Common Interests
by Snapegirlkmf
Summary: Sequel to Common Ground. After Halloween, Snape and Harry begin to bond even more as they discover some common interests. But will it stand the test of time . . .and can Sev protect Harry from the evil that stalks him? AU, Sev/Harry mentor/guardian story on HIATUS!
1. Restoring the Library

**Common Interests**

This is the sequel to Common Ground, my Halloween fic. Please read . . .and review that one before you read this one, because nothing will make sense until you do! Begins right where Common Ground ended. Thanks!

**1**

**Restoring the Library**

Potions that day was even more interesting than usual. They were working on a Sleeping Draught, and Harry had always like the combination of crushed lavender and sweetroot , it made him feel peaceful and the bit of sheep's wool added to the mixture, which soaked up any large particles, reminded him of a stuffed lamb he'd had when he was a baby. It had been in his bassinet as a fifteen month old, when he'd been dropped off at the Durselys, and he had kept it until he was five and it had fallen prey to one of Dudley's tantrums and been ripped to shreds. That had been one of the few times Harry had actually done something to Dudley with magic, he had made the fat little troublemaker get a terrible itchy rash all over his bottom. The best part was that he had done it at a distance, and so couldn't be blamed for anything. Petunia had thought Dudley contracted an infection from a public toilet. Of course, it didn't replace the shredded toy, but it had made Harry feel a little better.

He was working today with Hermione, and they were moving along nicely with their recipe. It was just at the stage when it needed to bubble gently and be given three clockwise stirs and four counterclockwise. Harry kept an eye upon the cauldron, and also on one Draco Malfoy, who was known to enjoy sabotaging other people's potions projects. But today, Snape seemed to be keeping an extra sharp eye on this class, and so Malfoy wasn't able to do anything to Harry's solution. Not to mention the fact that Malfoy was on the other side of the room.

"Almost done," he told Hermione excitedly. The potion was emitting a gentle soothing aroma and was the color of twilight, a soft rosy purple.

Thus far, Snape had not come to inspect their cauldron, instead busying himself with scowling at a few other students. Since the troll incident on Halloween, Harry had noticed that Snape was much more lenient on him in class. He sometimes used Harry's potion as a sample to other years, and also gave points, though what points Harry had accrued often ended up being eclipsed by Longbottom's abysmal potions skills and the deduction of points for exploding or totally botched potions. Harry had also noticed that Severus was careful to separate Harry and whoever partnered him, usually it was Ron or Hermione, and occasionally Dean, from Malfoy and the more boisterous Slytherins, which made it ten times as hard for Malfoy to pull pranks on him in class.

Harry was very grateful for that, because nothing irritated him more than a potion ruined on purpose. In that, he was very like Lily, if he only had known. He gave the mixture one final stir then asked Hermione to douse the fire under the cauldron, which she did with a simple "_Extingue!"_

"Looks perfect to me," she whispered, smiling.

Harry smiled too. "I wouldn't go that far. Perfect's for Masters. But it's good for us."

They strained and decanted the potion into their vials, then labeled them. Just then Severus arrived at their workstation and examined the rest of their potion before bottling a sample. "The color is a bit too bright, but otherwise this is an exceptional draft. Ten points to Gryffindor." He said quietly, with a nod of approval.

Harry smiled then. "Thank you, sir."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "For what? You earned the grade yourself, Potter." He then waved his wand at the cauldron and vanished the excess potion. "Everyone, solutions on my desk in five minutes. Those of you who are late will suffer a five point deduction."

He then swept up to his desk, where he could watch the students as they came and handed in their potions.

Harry walked alongside Ron and asked, "Well? How did you do?"

Ron shrugged. "Not too bad. He didn't tear strips off my arse this time at least." He showed Harry his potion, which was a light lavender color, not the correct shade but at least it was in the vicinity of the right shade.

They reached the desk and Ron placed his potion on it and so did Harry. Hermione was about to put hers down when Malfoy came up and shoved her arm.

She lost her grip on the vial and it smashed onto the floor.

"No! _Oh no_!" she wailed, horrified.

Malfoy smirked. "Oops! How clumsy, Granger."

Hermione looked as if she were going to burst into tears.

"You did that on purpose, Malfoy!" Ron growled.

"Prove it, Weasel face. I can't help it if she's got butterfingers." Malfoy laughed.

"But you can help tripping over your own robes, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, his tone icy with displeasure. "Five points from Slytherin for behaving like a gawky giraffe."

Draco's eyes widened. "But . . .sir . . .you can't just take points for that . . .!"

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Mr. Malfoy, are you questioning me on my discipline policy?"

"Sir, why would you want to take points from your own House—"

"Believe me, I wish nothing less, however you make it impossible for me _not_ to deduct points, Malfoy, given your current attitude." Snape glowered, gritting his teeth. Lately, Lucius' son was giving him a real migraine. Draco was starting to remind him unpleasantly of James Potter and the Marauders, with his arrogance and belief that because he was a Slytherin pureblood, Snape would allow him to get away with anything.

Draco opened his mouth again.

"I warn you, complain again, Malfoy and you shall be scrubbing cauldrons for me after midnight in detention."

Draco's teeth clicked together and he turned and walked out the door.

Hermione looked up from where she was crouched on the floor, trying to mop up the spilled potion. "Sir, what about my potion?"

"What about it, Miss Granger?" Snape asked calmly. "I have it upon my desk there."

"You what? Oh!" Hermione sniffled, understanding dawning in her brown eyes. How clever the Potions Master was! She thought. And how perfectly sneaky!

Snape came around the desk and pressed something into her hand. "Granger, get to your next class. I shall mop this up." He waved his wand and muttered a Cleaning Charm as he spoke.

"Yes, Professor Snape," Hermione said, then hurried out the door. In the corridor she paused and opened her hand. Within it was a green and silver handkerchief. She quickly blotted her eyes with it.

Ron emerged from the classroom a moment later. "I'll be damned. Snape actually did something . . . good for a Gryffindor. Did somebody slip him a Memory Altering Draught?"

Harry chuckled. "No. He just doesn't care for people messing with his decent potions students. Even if they aren't in Slytherin. That just really ticks him off."

"Since when?" asked Ron suspiciously. "He always used to favor his own House before."

"Things change, Ron," was all Harry answered. "Come on, we'll be late for Charms."

Later on that day, over lunch, Hermione brought up the fact that the library, which had been utterly trashed by the troll and its battle with Professor Snape and Harry, was still closed until further notice. "It's driving me crazy," she moaned. "Now I have nowhere I can go to study, except my room. And half the time there's always someone there and they _aren't_ studying, they're gossiping about the latest fashion in _Witch Weekly_ or trying out hairstyles and makeup."

"Maybe you should take a break from studying then," Ron offered. "I mean, don't most girls like discussing stuff like that?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes . . ._if_ they have extra money to spend on new robes or makeup, and if they happen to look good no matter what they wear and their hair isn't a frizzy mop. I don't have time to bother with any of that, Ron. All I want is to be at the top of my class."

"You do expect a lot of yourself," the redhead said. "Why don't you study in the common room then?"

"Too noisy," Harry answered, for he had been having the same problem. The library had been his haven, a chance to slip offand read in peace for a few hours. Not that he didn't enjoy his Housemates, but sometimes he felt stifled and just needed a place to be alone. Now, with the library damaged, his sanctuary was gone.

_There's always the professor's quarters,_ he reminded himself. Snape had given him an open invitation to visit his quarters and Harry had been down there quite a few times. He knew that Severus wouldn't mind if he went there to study, so long as he kept quiet. Still, he missed the library. He also felt sort of guilty, since he was the reason the troll had entered it in the first place.

"Uh . . .maybe you could go study by the lake?" Ron offered. Since he wasn't much for reading, the library's loss wasn't such a blow to him.

"And catch pneumonia while I'm at it?" Hermione snorted. "Brilliant, Ron! Now why didn't _I_ think of that?"

"I'm only trying to help."

Hermione huffed. "I wonder why it's taking so long to restore the library? If you can repair things with magic . . .?"

Harry had been wondering that too. And he knew just who to ask about that question.

Severus looked up from the batch of sixth year homework he'd been grading when the knock came at his office door. His eyes lit upon the magical scroll hanging above the doorway, which identified each visitor by reading their magical aura, something unique to every wizard and witch, like fingerprints. The scroll wrote in a graceful script—_Harry Potter_.

"Enter, Mr. Potter," the Potions Master called.

The door opened and Harry stepped inside. He was slightly out of breath from having hurried down the stairs. "Professor Snape, I . . .er . . .need to ask you a question."

"Indeed? And what would that be?"

Harry was about to inquire about the library, but his curiosity about another matter got the better of him. "Sir, how did you know it was me at the door?"

Severus' eyes gleamed. He knew many students wondered at his uncanny ability to discern visitors, they thought he read minds. "I have my ways, Potter. Was that the only reason you chose to disturb me?"

"Oh no, sir!" Harry said brightly, taking a seat upon the green leather chair in the corner. "I mean . . . sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you . . .but I have to know . . .when will the library be open again? It's taking forever to fix it up and I was just wondering 'cause you know I like studying there and I . . .miss it."

Severus set down his viridian quill and looked at the small boy before him. Harry's green eyes were downcast and he looked like a boy who has suddenly found out that his favorite hideaway in the park was about to be demolished by some mega real estate company. He found he could totally sympathize with how Harry felt. The library held too many memories for him to ever be resigned to its loss.

"It may be another few months before the library is fit to have students enter it again. Madam Pince had hysterics and had to be dosed with a Draught of Peace by me when she first saw the chaos her library had been reduced to. Not that I blame the woman. The loss of the books alone is irreparable. She applied for a Ministry money grant to restore the library, but getting money out of that bureaucracy is like pulling teeth from a crocodile. They are notoriously slow in gathering and distributing funds, even for such a cause and to such a venerable institution. It's terribly frustrating. She is slowly replacing those that could not be repaired, Dumbledore offered to foot the bill, but she insists as the Head Librarian she must personally buy those texts that were destroyed. Unfortunately, her salary is not quite up to it and she refuses anyone's attempt to assist her financially."

"Oh. That's too bad, sir. Because I could help . . .I have Galleons to spare, you know . . ."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I am sure your parents left you well off, considering your father was the sole heir to the Potter estates and fortune. However, that money was supposed to be used to pay for your education and upkeep."

"Yes, sir. I suppose so. But if I donate some money to the library, that _would_ be paying for my education."

"Humph! You are nearly too smart for your own good, Harry," Severus said. "Even so, I doubt Pince would accept it. She's very proud, you know."

"Would she maybe accept help on restoring the library?" Harry asked then. "I mean, fixing all the things the damn troll broke, like the wall and the desks and the bookshelves?"

"Language, Potter," scolded the professor. "I have no doubt she needs the help, whether she would accept it is another story."

"Could I ask her, sir?"

"Do you_ want_ to get your head ripped off, boy? She is crankier than a badger roused from a midwinter's nap."

Harry swallowed hard. That did not sound good. Then again, why would the librarian be anything other than vastly annoyed at the destruction of her beloved library and the precious books in it? Harry figured she had probably spent nights crying into her pillow once the dead troll had been removed. He knew he would have. "I . . .I'd really like to help restore the library, professor. Especially because . . .it's kind of my fault it got wrecked in the first place."

"_Your_ fault?"

"If I hadn't been hiding in there, the troll wouldn't have come in there."

"Harry, that's ridiculous. There was no predicting what the troll would do once inside the castle. It might have entered the library anyhow, whether or not you were inside." Severus pointed out. He sighed, knowing that the boy's guilt complex would nag him until something was done. "All right, Potter. We shall go to Madam Pince and see if she will allow us to assist her."

"Us?" Harry's eyes widened. "You mean, you're going to help too?"

"Obviously. Since part of the damage done in there was due to my battling the troll. And two wands are better than one."

"When can we go and see her?"

Severus checked his watch. It was almost eight. "Now. I still have a few hours before curfew." He rose from his desk, capped his inkwell and put his quill away. "Come, Potter. She'll probably have finished her glass of sherry by now, she almost always has one before retiring. Her quarters are next to the library, across the hall." He informed his eager student, anticipating Harry's next question.

Harry had to practically run to keep up with the tall wizard's strides, but he didn't complain.

Snape glanced at him and then slowed, allowing him to catch up before saying, "Did they not feed you at home, Potter? You're rather small for your age." _Rather like I was, as a matter of fact. But that should not be. Petunia lives in an affluent neighborhood and her husband is well off, at least according to Dumbledore and Minerva. They should have no trouble feeding four. _

Harry blushed. He didn't know how to answer that question. If he told the truth, would Snape believe him? Would anyone? "I don't really eat much," he said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

Severus frowned at him. "Why? Most boys your age devour food in two seconds. Do you have problems with your stomach? Does it hurt after you eat? Do you feel ill?" Perhaps the child had developed an ulcer? It was rare, but such had been known to happen.

"No. I just. . .can't eat a lot at one time." Harry explained.

"Do you have allergies to certain foods? Like dairy? Or meat? Nuts?" Snape probed, sensing the boy was hiding something.

Harry shook his head. "No, sir." He bit his lip.

"Perhaps you ought to see Madame Pomfrey for a physical," Severus mused. "When was the last time you had one?"

"I . . .I don't remember." Harry stammered. Why was Snape so concerned about his eating habits? No one else had ever thought it was a big deal when he ate or even if he ate.

"I'll see when I can make an appointment for you then."

Harry blanched. "Oh, but sir, I'm fine! Really I am. I'm not sick."

Severus frowned at the boy. "Perhaps not, but better safe than sorry. I shall speak to her tomorrow."

"Professor, I really feel fine. I don't need to see the nurse . . ." Harry protested.

"Come now, Harry. Madame Pomfrey's exam will take all of five minutes and won't hurt. I would be remiss in my duties as your unofficial guardian if I didn't make sure you were healthy." He gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "If she gives you any vaccinations, I'll hold your hand, all right?" he teased.

Harry blushed. "I'm not a baby! I'm not afraid of shots . . .well . . .not really."

"Poppy knows how to give injections so they barely sting." Snape told him simply.

Their conversation trailed off because they had reached the library. Severus turned and knocked on the door to Pince's quarters.

The door opened, and the tall Head Librarian came out. Her dark hair was piled high in a severe bun, which made her narrow face look even more forbidding. She was in a blue and white striped night robe, a pair of pince nez glasses on a chain about her neck. She was about fifty, with bright blue eyes that squinted disapprovingly at her unexpected guests, making her look rather like a beady-eyed vulture. In her dress and manner she resembled the stereotypical boarding school matron, strict and unsmiling, fond of rules and regarding children as an unwanted disturbance. "Professor Snape? To what do I owe this visit?" she asked, somewhat coldly. "I was just about to retire."

Severus seemed unaffected by her brusque manner. "My apologies, Irma. I will be brief. Mr. Potter here—"

Pince fastened her beady-eyed gaze upon Harry and glared at him. "Potter? Why, _you're_ the brat who lured that bloody troll into _my_ library! And now you have the cheek to come here and . . .and . . .well, what _are_ you here for, boy?"

Harry looked up at the librarian and for a moment felt almost afraid of the witch, who reminded him a bit of Aunt Petunia in a temper. But then he glanced at Severus, who gave him a quick nod, and he knew no harm would ever come to him so long as the Potions Master was there. "Um . . .I'm sorry, Madam Pince, that the troll wrecked the library. I . . .really liked it there. I like to read and I hate that all the books got destroyed. It's awful."

"Yes, it is! Some of those books were centuries old! Some were the original volumes and can never be replaced! All my life I worked to keep the library shipshape and the books in mint condition and now . . .thanks to you, Potter, it's all ruined! Ruined!" her wand waved wildly, and sparks shot from it.

Harry shrank back from her, for her hands had crooked into claws and she was looking at him as if she wanted to turn him inside out.

Severus scowled. "Control yourself, for heaven's sake! Irma, it's unfair of you to blame the boy for a twist of fate. He was not at fault for the troll encountering him in the library. If you wish to blame someone, then blame whoever let the blasted troll into the castle. Or do you blame me as well, because I was there to fight it?"

Pince huffed. "Severus, you might have tried to . . .get it OUT of the library before you killed it. I shall never get the stench out of the carpet. And my poor books . . .all the classics . . .all the rare volumes . . . the poetry . . .the histories . . .all of them were shredded." She put a hand to her heart. "I feel as if I have lost my children . . .You cannot possibly understand . . ."

She seemed on the verge of tears.

Harry felt terrible. "But I _do_ understand, Madam Pince. Books are my best friends too. I've always loved to read and I'm sorry I couldn't get out of the library but the troll had trapped me in the back corner, so . . . .I'd like to help restore the library. I could help you fix the bookshelves or the desks or catalogue the books."

"I also wish to help, Irma. You ought to know by now what a bibliophile I am," Severus interjected. "You had a fine collection of volumes, and if you'd allow me, I would like to help replace a few of them. The Prince family had an extensive collection of magical texts, I could donate some of them to you, if you'd like."

Pince stared at them as if they had lost their marbles. "Do you . . .really mean that?"

Severus nodded. "The library is special to both of us and we miss being able to visit and read in peace and quiet in the evenings. Plus, the school cannot function properly without a library."

The witch seemed shocked. "Yes . . .I know that. I have tried as best I could to replace what I can—"

"Irma, you cannot expect to do this on your own. You are only one witch and the library was the work of several centuries of witches and wizards. Let us assist you, if for nothing else, than to make restitution for what the troll damaged. What do you say?"

"I . . .suppose it would be all right. So long as you promise, Potter, to make sure your hands are clean and that you never touch a book without washing your hands. I simply cannot stand grubby children touching my books!" she declared fussily.

"Okay, ma'am." Harry said, then he flipped his hands up and said, "See? My hands are clean."

The librarian inspected them and gave a grudging nod. "Very well. Tomorrow evening you may return here and we shall see what can be salvaged. But any funny business, Potter, and I shall toss you out on your ear and take fifty points. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am." Harry said respectfully.

"I shall make sure he behaves, Irma," Snape reassured her.

"I will hold you to that, Professor," she sniffed. "Good night. I shall see you tomorrow evening, around six." She nodded to them each in turn, then withdrew into her quarters, shutting the door behind her.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew! For a minute there, I thought she was gonna hex me."

"So did I. Which was why I was prepared to disarm her. But I am pleased I didn't have to."

"Me too. Sev?" Harry whispered boldly. He only dared use Snape's nickname occasionally when they were alone. "Do you think I could . . .maybe make an anonymous donation to the library? She'd have to take that, wouldn't she?"

"I would say so. If you are determined to do this—" Harry nodded firmly. "—then I shall take you to Gringotts for a withdrawal this weekend. You may slip it on her desk when she's not looking." He smirked. "For now, I would suggest you return to your common room and get started on your homework."

"Aww, professor!"

"Quit your grousing, Potter. It's Monday, I know you have at least three assignments due, now off with you!" He turned the boy about and gave him a gentle swat.

"All right, all right. I'm going." Harry muttered, concealing a smile. Then he stopped and looked back at his professor. "Thanks, sir. I feel a lot better now."

"Stop procrastinating, Mr. Potter."

"I'm not. It's just . . could I study in your quarters, sir? It's nice and quiet in there."

Severus hid a groan. He had been looking forward to a nap and maybe curling up in front of his fire with a potions journal. But Harry had his mother's eyes and he never could resist them. "All right, brat. So long as you promise to do nothing other than study and finish homework. I won't be entertaining hyper brats at eight o'clock at night. And mind you return to your dormitory before curfew."

"Agreed, sir." Harry said. "Thanks! Let me get my books, I'll be right back!" He started to run for the staircase at the end of the hall.

"_Potter!_" Severus snapped.

Harry skidded to a halt. "Yes, sir?"

"No running in the halls. Did your aunt teach you no manners?"

Harry flushed. "Uh . . .not really. Sorry." He started to walk swiftly towards the stairs. But once he was safely out of Snape's sight, he ran to the Gryffindor portrait hole.

"Noble heart!" he gasped.

"In a hurry, dearie?" asked the Fat Lady.

"Just a bit." Harry said, then he ducked inside.

Most of his Housemates were busy talking about the upcoming Quidditch match or trying to study or playing Wizard Chess. Ron was involved in a cutthroat game against his brother Percy, concentrating hard. Harry was relieved, since he knew Ron would be too busy to ask where he was going at this time of night.

He glanced about for Hermione, finally finding her scrunched in a chair in the far corner of the common room, wearing a set of extra thick earmuffs on her head. He chuckled. "Clever, Hermione! I wish I'd thought of that." His friend had her nose buried in _The Standard Book of Spells Level One_.

Harry quickly went upstairs and fetched his school bag and then slipped out the portrait hole without anyone noticing. He had learned long ago how to move swiftly and silently and his small size enabled him to slip about the edges of things without too much effort.

Once outside the tower, Harry scurried down to the dungeons, hoping that Severus might have made some tea and maybe had crumpets with strawberry jam as well. Last time he had come to Snape's quarters to study, the professor had some treat on hand.

He was almost to the professor's quarters, his mouth watering slightly at the hope of crumpets or biscuits sprinkled with sugar, when suddenly three figures stepped out of the doorway of the boys lavatory.

"What are you doing down here, Potter?" Malfoy demanded, sneering. "Get lost on your way back to your tower?"

His ever present pals, Crabbe and Goyle, sniggered at this.

"No." Harry said, lifting his chin and looking Malfoy in the eye. He knew better than to show fear in front of bullies, despite his pounding heart. "I've come to see Professor Snape. I need to ask him an important question."

"Ooo, an important question," drawled Malfoy. "Like what? Whether you're going to fail for the year? I can answer that one. You're a retarded Gryffindor—of _course_ you're going to fail!"

"Shut up, Malfoy! You don't know anything."

Malfoy's fists clenched. "Don't know anything, Potter? Right! At least I know enough to not go wandering about uninvited. Go back to your tower, Potty!"

"Not until I see the professor." Harry said, clutching his wand. He knew Malfoy was spoiling for a fight. "Now move out of my way."

Draco laughed mockingly. "Make me, Potter. Or are you too chicken?"

**A/N: This story was begun in part to the overwhelming response I recieved for Common Ground and the inspiration from a family member. I hope you will all enjoy this tale and review this chapter. Thank you!**

**What do you think will happen between Harry and Draco?**

**And how did you like Madam Pince? She's an under-used character and I hope you liked how I portrayed her. I didn't really like the image of her in canon, it seemed sort of stereotypical and so I decided to make her a bit more of a sympathetic character. **


	2. Duels and Consequences

**2**

**Duels and Consequences**

Harry stiffened. Those were fighting words any way you looked at it. But he managed to hold onto his temper, because he wanted no more trouble between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Since Severus had become his guardian, he had come to see that not all Slytherins were painted with the same brush—in short not all were of the ambitious stab-you-in-the-back variety, or the ones who followed the Dark Path and would soon as hex a Gryffindor as look at one. The professor was brave and he cared about Harry, or at least Harry thought he did, since Snape had saved him that Halloween night and had even praised him in class and allowed him liberties no other Gryffindor, make that no other student, ever had.

Not even Malfoy.

Harry suspected the blond boy was jealous as well as a bully. He knew all about bullies, having lived for the past ten years with one, his cousin Dudley. Harry also knew the only way to get rid of a bully was to walk away or give him a taste of his own medicine. He wouldn't mind trying to give Malfoy a good thrashing, only he wasn't exactly sure if he could take the other boy. Also, dueling was forbidden among students.

"I'm not a chicken, Malfoy," he stated calmly, though his wand was pointed at the other. "Now, for the last time, move!"

"Or what? You'll hex me?" the other sneered, his blue-gray eyes full of mocking superiority. "I'll be t you don't know the first thing about dueling, Potter. I heard you didn't even know magic was real until Hagrid told you!"

His companions, the overlarge Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

"I know that if Professor Snape catches us dueling, he'll make us wish we'd never heard of wands," Harry said, knowing instinctively that was correct.

Malfoy made a so-what gesture. "Maybe he'll make _you_ wish that, you pathetic four-eyed coward. You're a Gryffindor, which is synonymous with dumber than dirt."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You would know, wouldn't you?"

Draco glared at him. "At least I'm smart enough to stay where I belong. Maybe the reason you're so stupid, Potter, is because of that scar you got when you were a baby. It made you famous but it also knocked all the sense out of your head. Poor dumb Potter! I'll bet your mummy's ashamed of such a stupid son. Oh, I forgot. She went and got herself killed, trying to duel the greatest dark wizard ever. Stupidity must run in your family."

Harry saw red. "You take that back, Malfoy! My mum was _not_ stupid!"

"Sure she was. All Gryffindors are stupid, all they know how to do is play Quidditch and look at themselves in the mirror and suck up to teachers. Like you do. Kiss arse!"

"I am not! And my mother was brilliant!" Harry flared. "Professor Snape and everyone else says so!"

"Guess what, Potty? They lied, because they feel sorry for poor pathetic you who's lost his mum!" Draco pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"At least _mine_ died for a good cause. _Yours_ probably would have hid under the bed or begged You-Know-Who on her hands and knees to spare her life!" Harry shot back. If Draco was going to insult Lily, then his mother was fair game.

"You calling my mother a coward, Potter?" growled Malfoy.

"Just telling the truth, is all," Harry replied.

"Eat this, Potty!" spat the irate Slytherin. He fired off a Stinging Hex.

Harry managed to dodge it by sheer luck. Then he recalled a spell he had read about in the library just before Halloween. He was sure he could cast it. "_Repello Malfoy!"_

Draco was knocked violently backwards as if by a sudden gust of wind. He fetched up against the wall next to Snape's quarters with a light thump, knocking the breath from his body a bit.

Harry glared at him. "Don't ever insult my mum again, Malfoy!"

"Wow! He got you good, Draco!" remarked Goyle somewhat stupidly.

Malfoy forced himself to his feet, red-faced with temper and embarrassment. He couldn't allow himself to be beaten by a Gryffindor, especially one who had been raised Muggle. He would never live it down. Humiliated and furious, he rummaged about in his head for a curse or hex to teach the Potter brat his place. "Don't insult mine, dung for brains!" He pointed his wand and snapped out the incantation to a Bone Breaking Curse that Lucius had taught him that summer.

Harry felt a terrible sharp pain as the bone in his right arm, his wand arm, shattered. He screamed and went to his knees, his vision red and blurry from the agonizing pain.

"Serves you right! Now maybe you'll learn your lesson." Malfoy laughed, then cast another jinx upon his opponent, which caused his nose to start spontaneously bleeding and swell to an enormous size. "This is what happens to stupid Gryffindors who pick fights with Slytherins and go where they're not supposed to."

Harry started to cough and gasp, for he couldn't breathe right with all the blood gushing from his nose. He tried frantically to stem the flood with a sleeve but blood kept spurting out. "Make it stop!" he whimpered, terrified he would bleed to death.

"Beg me, Potter. Say pretty please, like your dear departed mum."

"Go . . .to . . .hell . . .Malfoy," Harry hissed. He would rather die than humble himself before Malfoy that way.

An instant later he was regretting that impulse as he felt lightheaded and about to pass out.

Severus had just settled down with a cup of his favorite Black Dragon tea and some shortbread biscuits, wondering where Potter had gotten to, when he heard the sound of voices raised in anger and thumps. He rose immediately, knowing how hotheaded his Slytherins were, he suspected there was either a fight going on or they were playing indoor Quidditch in the hallway again. Searing under his breath and vowing to teach the little brats to obey school rules if it killed him, Snape strode to the door of his quarters, yanked open the door and stepped into the corridor.

"What, may I ask, is going on out here?" he hissed in his deadliest tone.

He surveyed the situation in two seconds. Draco was standing over Harry, wearing a sneer of satisfaction and Harry . . .Harry was covered in blood. "Say it!" Draco was ordering.

Severus was suddenly transported back some seventeen years ago, to a time when the Marauders had cornered him in the boys' bathroom and almost drowned him by shoving his head in the toilet to "clean him up". He could still recall the horrible fear that he was going to die and hear Black and Pettigrew laughing and jeering. _"Wash your hair, Snivellus! It sure does need it, eh, Prongs?"_

"Potter! Malfoy!" Snape's voice cracked like a whip. "Dueling in the corridor? Detention and thirty points from Gryffindor . . ._and_ Slytherin!" Snape growled, gritting his teeth through the last words. He hated taking points from his own House, but he could not abide bullies either and Malfoy had been caught redhanded with his wand pointed at Potter.

"Professor Snape!" Malfoy went pale as old cheese. "Sir, I-I can explain . . .! Potter started it! I-I was only defending myself!"

"Silence!" hissed Snape, and the look in his eyes was terrible to see. Malfoy cringed away. "Wand, Mr. Malfoy." He pocketed Draco's wand. "Remain where you are, all of you!" Then he knelt to examine Harry. "Potter, let me see." He gently tilted Harry's head up, pressing a handkerchief to the boy's nose and chanting a simple Blood Halt Charm.

"Didn't start it, sir," Harry mumbled. "Malfoy attacked me . . .called my mum a stupid witch . . ."

Severus felt his temper slip another notch. Malfoy had dared to insult Lily! He reached out to help Harry to his feet, his hand closing accidentally upon the broken arm.

"Ahhh!" Harry screamed, nearly passing out.

Severus immediately released his arm. "Potter, what happened to your arm?"

"Malfoy got him good with a Bone Break Hex," Crabbe said helpfully.

Snape lifted Harry in his arms and gave Draco's two cronies a death glare. "And I suppose you two geniuses just stood there and let them go at it? Maybe placed a few bets?" his tone was corrosive.

"Uh . . .well, you see . . .sir . . ." Crabbe whined, hanging his head.

"What I see, Crabbe and Goyle, is two dunderheads who don't even have enough brains to break up a duel and save a fellow Slytherin's hide. Next time don't stand there like a lump, do something to stop it! Get out of my sight, before you share Malfoy's punishment!"

Crabbe and Goyle hotfooted it to the Slytherin portrait hole. "Sorry, sir! Won't happen again!" babbled Goyle.

Severus shot them a withering glare, utterly disgusted with them and with Malfoy. He was also quite concerned over the small boy in his arms. Harry had buried his face in Snape's robes and was breathing in quick gasps, trying not to cry, for he could feel the bones grating in his broken arm. "Shh, Potter. I'm going to conjure a stretcher and take you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll fix your arm." He murmured. Then he wandlessly summoned a stretcher and placed Harry on it.

Harry whimpered, longing to cling to his professor, but unable to do so. As the stretcher floated behind Snape, he heard the professor ordering Draco to accompany him. Harry winced and allowed himself to drift into a twilight haze, trying to ignore the throbbing in his arm and head.

Severus turned Harry over to Pomfrey, telling the mediwitch that Potter had met with an unfortunate accident.

"Not again, Severus!" Poppy cried. "This is the third time this term! First the troll, then the Quidditch match, and now this!"

Snape nodded curtly, then bent and whispered in Harry's ear, "I'll be back in a bit. Listen to Pomfrey and do as she tells you."

Then he whirled about and caught the Malfoy scion by the collar and dragged him into the hallway for a private chat.

"Professor Snape, it wasn't my fault," Malfoy whined, immediately trying to skew the facts in his favor. He couldn't believe his Head had actually taken _thirty points_ away! _And_ given him detention too! It was simply unheard of. Some of the older Slytherins had assured him that Snape never took points, no matter what his House did in public. But it looked like they had been mistaken . . .or playing him for a gullible fool. Draco gulped. He had never seen Snape so furious, not even the time Longbottom blew up his cauldron and splattered half the class with his mucked up potion. The wizard's black eyes glittered with wrath and his fingers were hard and unforgiving as they closed upon Malfoy's shoulders. Malfoy felt suddenly grateful that Hogwarts no longer allowed corporal punishment, otherwise he was certain he would have been bent over and getting seven of the best from his potions professor right then and there. "Potter started it—"

"Do _not_ lie to me, Malfoy!" Snape cut him off, his eyes flashing black fire. "I know perfectly well who hexed whom and when. It was quite obvious to anyone with eyes in their head and brains between their ears." He shook the boy slightly. "Dueling is forbidden, no matter what the provocation! It is the one offense that will result in expulsion if repeated. Do you wish to be expelled, Malfoy?"

Malfoy shivered. "You . . .you wouldn't . . .my father would—"

"Be forced to abide by the rules of this institution, as I do. Your father may be on the Board of Governors and highly placed in the Ministry, but that does not mean you shall get special privileges, Malfoy, Slytherin or not! You are not above the rules, anymore than Potter is."

"Potter always gets special treatment. He gets to play Quidditch early—" whined Malfoy.

"That never would have happened if he were in Slytherin. Do not worry about Potter, Malfoy. You're only concern should be yourself and how you can earn back the House points you lost. I shall not tolerate another incident like this one. You may have been allowed to lord it over others at home, but such is no longer the case. Lose the attitude, Mr. Malfoy. Bullying others will get you a one way ticket back home on the Hogwarts Express, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Your wand is mine till the weekend, since you clearly cannot be trusted to use it responsibly."

Draco gaped. "But professor—I need it to cast spells!"

"You shall get it back—for class only. You will also serve detention along with Potter for the next three days. It will begin tomorrow night, with a dozen cauldrons that need your exclusive attention. The next night you shall accompany me to the library and work on cleaning the bookshelves and the desks or whatever else Madam Pince needs doing. Now, get back to your common room and go to sleep. I shall be back in a few minutes and Merlin help you, boy, if I find you anywhere but in bed . . ." he trailed off ominously.

Draco scurried off towards the dungeons, his ears smarting from the verbal lashing Snape had given him. He had been warned about Snape's temper, but had never thought he would be on the receiving end of it, especially with his connections.

When Severus entered the infirmary, he found Harry sitting up in one of the infirmary beds, his arm in a sling, wearing the standard blue and white striped hospital pajamas. The boy was still pale, but he looked worlds better than he had when Snape had first seen him lying upon the dungeon floor, all over blood.

Poppy suddenly appeared at his elbow. "Severus, I've mended his arm, but he needs to keep it immobile over night, give the spell a chance to set, and I've given him a Blood Replenisher and a Pain Reliever."

Snape nodded. "What about a Sleeping Draft?"

"Not yet. That was the next thing. Would you be so kind as to inform Minerva where her little lion is? I am sure she is wondering where Mr. Potter is by now. It's almost curfew."

"I shall. Is Potter well enough to leave the Hospital Wing?"

The mediwitch nodded. "Yes." She waved her wand and a familiar twilight colored potion popped up in her hand. "Mr. Potter, take this Sleeping Draft before you retire. It will ensure you get the rest you need. Sleep is the physician of pain."

"Yes, ma'am." Harry took the vial. He would have smiled at the quote, which was an old Roman saying, but he was far too nervous. Looking at Snape's forbidding expression, he knew he was going to be roasted over a slow fire by his guardian.

"Come, boy. I shall escort you back to Gryffindor Tower and speak to Professor McGonagall once I am there," Snape ordered.

Harry slid off the bed. He longed to run over to Snape and lean against him, but he sensed the wizard was not in the mood to be hugged by wayward students. "Yessir." He followed Snape out of the infirmary.

Severus strode along rapidly, his boots tapping out a firm rhythm, breathing deeply. He said nothing for several moments. All at once he halted, turning to face his disobedient ward. Disappointment and anger warred across his face.

Harry dropped his gaze to his shoes.

"Dueling, Potter?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry sir."

"No excuses. You know that dueling is expressly forbidden. You've read the Hogwarts rules and regulations, I gave you a copy myself. What possessed you to break them?"

"I . . .Malfoy insulted my mum and I . . .lost my temper, sir. I didn't want to fight him, but he . . ."Harry shook his head, Snape's disappointment cut him sharper than a whip. "I'm sorry. Will I . . .be expelled?" He forced himself to ask that question, then waited, dread curling in his stomach, for his teacher's answer.

Snape let him squirm for a few minutes, continuing to walk towards the stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower. "No. Not this time. I will not report this to the Headmaster. I have taken points and you and Mr. Malfoy shall serve detention with me for the week, both in my lab and in the library. You shall also surrender your wand to me, I will be keeping it until the weekend, since you obviously cannot be trusted to use it properly. You shall get it back only for class." He placed his hands on his hips and sent Harry a stern look. "I trust you know how disappointed your actions have made me?"

"Yes, sir." Harry whispered. He handed his wand over with a pang of regret. He had been so foolish, letting Malfoy goad him into a duel. "I'll try and control myself from now on. It won't happen again."

"It had better not. Or else you will be ending your school days before they have barely begun." Severus sighed. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

"All right." Harry said diffidently, wondering if this had put an end to his friendship with the potions professor. "I should have walked away, I know that, but I . . .just couldn't. Not after what he said about Mum."

Snape's hand closed over his shoulder gently. "When I was your age, I probably wouldn't have either," he conceded. "Do try harder, Potter. That impulsiveness is inherited from your father and it is not a good thing to indulge in. Tell me, who did throw the first hex, you or Malfoy?"

"Malfoy did. He wanted to fight, I tried to defend myself, but . . .I don't know enough magic."

"I see. That is not your fault. You cannot be expected to learn magic overnight, not raised as a Muggle. Malfoy's been around magic and been taught hexes since he could hold a wand."

"I know. He's a bully, like my cousin Dudley."

"Your cousin? What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Harry said quickly. He hadn't meant to let that slip.

"Your cousin bullied you? How?"

Harry avoided the other's probing gaze. But it was too late to take the words back and he knew better than to try and lie. Not to this man. "He . . .used to push me and shove me a lot. Call me freak and loser. You know. The usual things."

The boy's calm acceptance riled the Potions Master. For Snape _did_ know. James Potter and the Marauders had taught him well. "Your aunt and uncle? Did they know about this?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"And they did nothing to stop it?"

"No. Uncle Vernon used to laugh sometimes, when Dudley knocked me down and sat on me. They didn't care. Dudley was their prince and I was just . . .their freaky nephew."

"I see." Severus' jaw was clenched. It would seem Potter had not led the posh existence his father had, as Snape had been led to believe given Dumbledore's assurances that the boy was being looked after well, living in a well-to-do Muggle home with everything he needed or wanted. "How long was this going on?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Ever since I can remember."

Snape knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Petunia had always been a narrow-minded harpy. He would have to speak to Dumbledore about it. Something needed to be done. Clearly Minerva had been right and the Dursleys were unfit guardians, the worst kind of Muggles. No magical child should have to put up with them, especially not Lily's son.

He put both hands upon the small boy's shoulders, kneeling down so he could look Harry in the eye. "It won't happen again. I will make certain of it."

Harry shook his head. "No, sir! Don't. I'm not supposed to tell. Uncle Vernon will—"

"—shut his fat face if he knows what's good for him," Severus interjected. "Do not worry, Harry. No harm shall come to you. You have my word."

Harry relaxed a fraction. He trusted the Potions Master. He had saved him twice now, for Harry was certain Severus had intervened when his broom went bonkers at the Quidditch match, though Ron and Hermione still had doubts about him. Hermione had insisted that in order to hex a broom, you had to concentrate and not blink once, and Snape had been looking right at Harry and not blinking.

But Harry also knew the same was required of a wizard casting a countercurse, he'd learned that from reading ahead in _The Standard Book of Spells Level Two_. He was sure Snape had been countering the Hurling Hex or whatever it was. It made no sense for Snape to want him dead, not after the troll. Not after becoming Harry's unofficial guardian and telling him stories of his mum. Or giving him the precious pocket watch with Lily's picture in it. Those were not the acts of a murderer. Someone else had been behind that jinx, Harry just didn't know who or why yet. Until he did, he would be careful to stick with his friends and Snape.

"Okay, sir. Thank you."

Snape snorted. "Do not thank me yet. I have not done anything to earn it."

"Yes, you have. You saved me twice. Three times if you count this evening."

"Don't make it a habit, Potter," said the professor and he gently mussed the boy's hair. "Seeing the way trouble seems to follow you, I may as well teach you a few defensive spells."

"Really?" Harry's eyes shone. "You'd do that for me?"

"And for myself as well. All of these trips to the Hospital Wing to patch you up grow tiresome," said Snape.

"I'm sorry. I'll try and stay out of trouble." Harry apologized. He didn't want to be a burden.

Severus snorted. The sun would rise in the west the day a Potter didn't attract some kind of trouble. "Learning how to defend oneself is a necessary part of your education. But we'll discuss that later. After you've served your detention." _Because I will not have you enduring what I had to in my schooldays. We have too much in common as it is,_ thought Snape darkly. It was ironic, that he, who had been the target of James Potter, was now protecting Potter's son against bullies. Perhaps it was some kind of cosmic joke.

Harry grimaced. He had almost forgotten that, with the discussion about the Dursleys. He hoped it wouldn't be too awful. Then again, he didn't see how it wouldn't be, since it was supposed to be a punishment. But there was one bright spot. He would be serving part of it in the library, his favorite place, and being useful.

They had reached the portrait hole and Snape bid Harry goodbye before Harry could speak the password to the Fat Lady. "Take the potion Madame Pomfrey gave you and go straight to bed. No studying tonight, you need sleep."

"But what about my homework, sir?"

"I shall speak to McGonagall and she will give you a slip that will allow you to hand in your homework a day late due to your injuries." The professor reassured him.

"Oh. That's good."

"Enough chitchat, Mr. Potter. Do as you're told. I shall see you tomorrow."

"Good night, sir," Harry whispered, then he gave the tall wizard a brief hug. "Thanks for not totally kicking my arse."

"Humph! If you are late for my detention tomorrow night, young man, your backside will be singing a different tune. Sleep well." His arms went round the dark-haired imp and he gave the boy a quick squeeze, he was still not comfortable being so demonstrative, it had been too long since he had reason to give or receive affection. But he could remember spontaneously hugging Lily long ago, and Harry seemed to relish the contact, brief as it was.

Harry leaned into Severus' embrace for a moment longer, then he drew away. He didn't want the professor to think he was a wimp or a baby, but it felt good to be hugged. The Dursleys had never really touched him, unless it was to give him a shove in impatience, or a cuff in anger. Mostly, they had ignored him, unless there was work to be done. So Harry cherished these moments of affection between himself and Snape, especially now after this latest escapade. The hug told Harry that Snape was no longer furious and he was forgiven.

Harry turned and gave the password to the Fat Lady, who swung open wide and allowed the Potions Master and the wayward Gryffindor to pass into the tower.

Startled glances met them and everyone hushed and gaped when they saw the Head of Slytherin come through the portrait hole along with Harry.

Snape ignored the shocked uncomfortable looks and made a left out of the common room and down a short hall to Minerva's quarters.

Harry was bombarded with questions from his Housemates that he didn't feel like answering. He went upstairs to his room, he felt drained and exhausted, the duel plus his injuries had taken more out of him than he thought.

"Harry! What happened to you, mate?" Ron cried after seeing Harry's arm.

"Tell you tomorrow, Ron," he yawned. "I'm too tired now." He quickly changed into pajamas and drank down the potion.

His head had just touched the pillow when he was whisked away to the Land of Nod, where he stayed until the dawn.

**A/N: Because this is an AU story, it will not always follow the events in the first book, you'll start seeing a divergeance soon. Hope you liked what occurred so far between Snape, Harry, & Malfoy. Oh, and another thing, in this universe, Severus is no longer Dumbledore's spy at this time and has cut all ties to the Death eaters. **

**Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, please continue! **

**6/6/11-I have recently had a few anon reviewers who seem to think that Snape's punishing both Harry and Draco is unfair. Let me explain why his reasoning is not unfair. Hogwarts is a school with certain rules. One of those rules is that dueling is prohibited FOR ANY REASON between students. This means that whether or not Harry was provoked by Malfoy, whether or not he started it, or was defending himself, he STILL BROKE the rules. Maybe he had a better reason to do so, but the fact remains-the rule was broken. Severus had to give him a detentionand take his wand, because he is the proponant of following the school rules. If he didn't he would be acting like all the other teachers and letting Harry get away with disobeying school policy. That isn't how Snape is. If you'll notice, he was alot harder on Draco when scolding him than he was with Harry. I was a teacher and I know all about following school policy. In about 99% of schools here in America and Britain as well there is a rule forbidding fighting in school. If you break it, for whatever reason, BOTH parties earn themselves a three-day suspension, no matter if you instigated it or not. No arguments, no questions asked. The idea behind this is to discourage fighting on school grounds. Every student knows this . . . it's why most fights occur outside of school and off school property. So please don't insult me by saying I have no idea how to treat children! Harry had plenty of time to walk away from Malfoy. He could have gone into Snape's quarters at any time before wands were drawn and told him what was happening. He could have shouted for the professor as soon as Malfoy refused to move out of his way. This happend right in front of Snape's rooms! He could have ignored Malfoy's taunts. He didn't. He chose to respond to them, thus continuing the altercation. Snape's message to Harry is this-seek the help of an adult before getting into a fight with another student. If you can't walk away, you can fight back, but know that there will be consequences for doing so. **

**Next: Sev has a talk with Dumbledore regarding Harry and Harry and Draco serve their first night of detention.**


	3. Correcting Past Mistakes

**3**

**Correcting Past Mistakes**

"Severus? What brings you here at this hour?" asked McGonagall, upon opening her door to find the Potions Master standing there. "Has one of my Gryffindors been caught wandering where they shouldn't be again? Or does it have to do with Mr. Potter, who I was just about to go searching for?"

"The latter, Minerva. Might I come in? I have things to discuss with you regarding the boy that I'd rather the whole House wasn't privy to."

She nodded and ushered him into her quarters. Her sitting room looked very homey, with plaid green and blue chairs and a sofa, a thick rug upon the stone floor, and several tapestries upon the walls. One was of her family coat of arms, the others were of Loch Ness, a beautiful Highland glen, and two kittens playing in an old Wellington amid a bunched up tartan. Severus knew a little of the McGonagall family history, enough to suspect that all the tapestries had been woven by her clan, for before they were known for magic, they had been magnificent weavers, and the Muggle side still was known for their outstanding designs and colorful dyes. There was a cheery fire crackling in the grate and a clock and two or three china sculptures on the mantle. A book, a plate of scones, and a cup of tea lay forgotten upon a small end table next to the sofa. The room was lit by several lamps high in the ceiling, they cast a warm glow over the room.

"Do sit down, Severus," Minerva invited. "Tea? Scones?" she offered, because it would be impolite not to.

"No, thank you," he responded.

Pleasantries out of the way, the Scottish witch got down to business. "Just what has Potter gotten himself into now?"

Severus told her about the impromptu duel, Harry's injuries, and the punishment he had handed out to both Draco and Harry. "I would have done more to Malfoy, but I figured I would save the rest of my lecture for tomorrow, when I would be more alert and able to give him the full benefit of my temper."

"I see. A little of that goes a long way, Severus." Then her eyes narrowed. "Not that Mr. Malfoy doesn't deserve it, harming Harry that way. And insulting Lily too."

"Very true. His parents have spoiled him and now we must reap what they have sown," Severus said with a grimace. "But I will not allow another James Potter to take root in my House. Malfoy will learn to obey the rules just like the rest of my snakes or else."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I took points for the boy's wicked tongue?" Minerva asked, quite angry at Draco's attack upon Harry, who had done nothing to deserve it.

Severus sighed. "Of course I would. But in this case it is justified."

"I shall take twenty then, for an even fifty."

Snape scowled angrily. "I tell you, Minerva, were I allowed, I would have put the brat over my knee and given him a good spanking."

"He's had precious little of that, I'd wager," sniffed the Transfiguration Mistress.

"Like another bully I could name," Severus said darkly, knowing full well Minerva would guess whom he was referring to.

Minerva pursed her lips and nodded. Then she said, "Severus, I recall you _did_ spank a student in your House once for . . . tormenting one of your other Slytherin's familiar."

Severus coughed. "Yes, but that was . . . six years ago, and it was done with the full permission of the boy's parents. The school policy forbids corporal punishment unless the parent or guardian specifically demands it be given. Some of the pureblood families favor it and I have been given permission by some to use it if the situation warrants it. In Malfoy's case, I wish it had been." Severus scowled. "Speaking of bullies, I recently learned from Potter that Malfoy isn't the only bully he's had to deal with. Apparently his cousin is also allowed to bully him at home."

Minerva looked shocked. "What? But . . .Albus assured me that his relatives were treating him well!"

"Albus believes that if they gave the boy a roof over his head and food and clothing, he is being treated well. I doubt if he ever bothered to check and see how they behaved towards him. Potter told me that his aunt and uncle detested him, told him lies about his parents and called him freak and unnatural. They also permitted their fat slob of a son to punch and kick him whenever he felt like it." Severus' voice was cold with disapproval. "I also believe, based upon how thin and undernourished he looks, that they have probably starved him, or at the least fed him the bare minimum of food. He eats hardly anything at meals. Based upon how Potter reacted when he told me about his cousin, I also suspect his uncle abuses him in some fashion. Hardly the exalted existence Albus led me to believe Potter was living."

Minerva looked incensed. "Senile old gaffer! I warned him in the beginning that he never should have left the boy with those Muggles. I had been watching them for several hours before Hagrid arrived with baby Harry and they were the worst sort of Muggles, full of pretentions and without a scrap of imagination or original thought between all of them. I also knew that Lily had cut ties with her sister after she married, and one doesn't do that with family unless there is a darned good reason. I told the old coot he was making a mistake, but did he listen? No, of course not! The great and wise Albus Dumbledore knows what's best for everyone. Humph!"

"This is one mistake he will regret," Severus said grimly. "I shall be speaking to him about Potter's home life tomorrow. It is intolerable and I gave the boy my word that he would never go back there again."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "You have? Since when do you care about Harry so much? Not that I mind, but it's just so . . ."

"Shocking?" Severus supplied, his mouth quirking. "Recent events have caused me to set aside my animosity towards James Potter and remember that Harry is also Lily's son. I made her a promise to look after her son and I intend to keep it. I know Petunia Dursley, we were neighbors when I was a boy, and she was full of malice and jealousy towards anything to do with magic even then. It appears she still is and extends that feeling to her nephew. No child deserves to live with such a bitter hag or her nasty husband. I shall be speaking with the Headmaster about becoming Potter's legal guardian due to extenuating circumstances."

"Good luck, Severus. Albus might fight you on it though."

"Not after he hears what I just told you." Snape disagreed. "Potter is his Golden Boy."

"True, but Albus has plans for him that don't involve you mentoring the boy, Severus."

"We'll just see about that, Minerva," Severus said determinedly. "I didn't spend four years as a spy and protect Harry from that troll only to allow him to be harmed by his own relatives. Sometimes the ones who are supposed to care for you most end up hurting you the most." Snape knew that all too well, having grown up with an abusive father.

"I will back you in this, Severus. Albus means well, but he doesn't always know what's best, and Harry ought to have been raised with someone who knows the magical world or at least respects it." McGonagall said firmly. "When will you be getting confirmation of Potter's health?"

"As soon as I make an appointment with Poppy. Which I intend to do first thing tomorrow. She can do scans and run a history on him, and if it turns out how I think it will, I shall have all the proof I need to show Albus how mistaken he was."

"How very Slytherin of you, Severus," Minerva chuckled.

"Naturally," was all Snape said. "One other thing. Due to Harry's injuries, he didn't have time to finish his homework last night. I think it fair if you write him a make-up pass for his classes tomorrow."

"All right. I would have done it anyhow, once I realized he was injured," the witch said. Then she yawned. "Please excuse me, Severus. I am not used to keeping such hours anymore."

"I shall bid you good night then, Minerva." Then he rose and took his leave. Tomorrow would be a busy day for all concerned.

Harry rose early, as was his wont, years of waking ahead of the Dursleys to cook breakfast was ingrained in him. He quickly went to take a shower and dress. When he returned to the common room to gather his bag and books for class, he found McGonagall waiting for him.

"Good morning, Potter. I understand you were involved in a duel with Mr. Malfoy last evening."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"My understanding is that Malfoy was more to blame than you. Nevertheless, do not let it happen again. How is your arm?"

"It feels better today. Madam Pomfrey told me I can keep the sling off unless it starts hurting." Harry told her.

"Good. Here is a pass for your professors whose homework is due today." She handed him a small card with the words, _Make-up homework due to injury_, written on it and below was her signature.

"Thanks, Professor." Harry sighed in relief.

"You have forty-eight hours to make-up your assignments." McGonagall said briskly.

Harry nodded and slipped the precious pass into his pocket. He would try and start on them after lunch, when he had an hour or so free.

Some fifteen minutes later, the rest of his Housemates were awake and getting ready for the day. At breakfast, Ron and Hermione asked what had happened to him last night.

"And don't say nothing, Harry, because I saw your arm in a sling last night," Ron said.

"I was going to ask Professor Snape a question about the potions homework and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle jumped me," Harry said quickly. "Then Malfoy challenged me to a duel."

Hermione gasped. "Harry! Dueling is forbidden. You could have gotten _expelled_!"

"I know. I tried to walk away, but Malfoy . . .he said some really nasty things about my mum, that she died because she was stupid enough to challenge You-Know-Who, and I just got mad. So we fought, and . . .Malfoy cast some kind of curse on me that broke my arm and made my nose bleed."

"Rotten git! What happened then?" asked Ron.

"Professor Snape came out of his quarters and he yelled at us both and took points—"

"He took points from Gryffindor, right?" Ron scowled. "Greasy unfair git! Did he give you detention too?"

"Yes, but—"

"Figures! He's always out to get Gryffindors and I'll bet he let Malfoy off with a smack on the wrist."

Harry shook his head. "No, he didn't. We _both_ got thirty points off and our wands taken away and detention for three days."

"Your _wand_ was taken away?" Ron gaped.

"Yeah. I'll get it back for class though."

"And you have detention with Malfoy too?" Hermione asked.

"Why did you get detention if Malfoy started it?" Ron demanded. "How is that fair?"

"Ron, he broke school rules too," Hermione reminded him. "It doesn't matter who started it, dueling isn't allowed, no matter what."

"That's ridiculous—" Ron began.

"No, it's not. I knew I shouldn't have jinxed him back, I should have left. But I let my temper take over and . . .well . . .at least Snape's not going to report it to the Headmaster. And he did bring me to the Hospital Wing himself and I think he tore strips off Malfoy for starting a duel and making him take points from Slytherin."

"About time!" Ron said, somewhat mollified by that information. He detested Malfoy for his sly and snobbish ways.

"But that's not all that happened last night." Harry then told them about his visit to Madam Pince and trying to help her restore the library along with Snape.

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Oh! I would love to help, Harry! I don't have money to donate, well not a lot, but maybe I could start a collection fund. And any students who want to could donate some money, Knuts, Sickles, Galleons, whatever and then we could donate the lot to Madam Pince. She couldn't refuse that. I know at least some Gryffindors and all the Ravenclaws would donate something."

"I think all the students would agree that we need to rebuild the library," Ron said. "I don't have money to give but maybe I could help some other way? Like polishing the furniture or something?"

"That would be good. And Hermione, why don't you also ask students to see if they might donate rare spellbooks instead of money, since so many of ours were damaged?" Harry suggested, recalling Severus offering to donate some volumes from his private collection.

"That's a capital idea, Harry! I'll get started on making flyers and posting them in the Entrance Hall with some collection boxes for money and books for each House. Maybe I could ask the professors to post a flyer in their common rooms for me too? If everyone works together, we should have the library restored by next term." Hermione said eagerly, her eyes shining.

Harry then turned his attention to his toast and a gammon of bacon, which was what he was used to eating at home. It was barely enough to sustain a growing eleven-year-old, but Harry felt full after he ate it and drank his pumpkin juice. He had become so used to eating half-rations that it seemed normal to him, though if any of the teachers had seen how little he ate they would have been appalled. Even though he knew that at school he could eat as much as he wanted, his eating habits remained the same as they had at home. He absently tucked an apple and a banana into his pocket for a snack for later, and shot a glance at Ron, who had just polished off scrambled eggs with onions, a muffin, bacon, and was now starting in on some pancakes dripping with syrup and whipped topping. _Where does he put it all?_ Harry wondered in astonishment.

Hermione, in contrast, was eating a bowl of granola, vanilla yogurt, and some sliced melon, strawberries, and a hardboiled egg. Harry rarely saw her eat sausage or bacon and she also tended to stay away from sweets, except for sugared orange slices and pumpkin pasties.

Harry was reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice when a large raven flew into the hall. The bird was twice the size of a normal raven and it swooped down gracefully upon the Gryffindor table, landing gently amid the bowls of porridge and platters of fruit and sausage. It eyed the students and gave an insouciant fillip of its tail feathers before helping itself to a sausage link.

Some of the students gasped and others giggled at the raven's insolent manner. A few whistled and held out morsels of fruit or bread.

But the bird ignored them and walked straight towards Harry.

Harry gaped as the raven fluttered onto his left shoulder and peered into his face.

He flinched as the sharp beak opened and for an instant feared the bird was either going to bite his nose or rip off his glasses.

Instead, the raven spoke. "Mr. Potter," it began, mimicking the tone and inflection of the Potions professor so exactly that Harry could have sworn Snape was right by his side, talking to him. "You will report to the infirmary immediately after breakfast, Madam Pomfrey wishes to discuss a few things with you. Do not dawdle, but be prompt, or else you shall lose more points for Gryffindor."

Harry gaped. "He sounds just like Professor Snape! Is it some kind of spell?"

The raven made a sudden loud squawking sound and shook its head. "Quoth the raven, _"Nevermore!"_ Stupid poem!" Its beady black eyes shone with mischief and intelligence.

"No. Ravens can mimic anyone or anything. And he's particularly good at it," laughed Oliver Wood, the Quidditch Captain. "That's Skullduggery, Snape's familiar. He doesn't need parchment to deliver a message, all you have to do is tell him what to say and he'll repeat it, word for word and voice for voice."

"He's quite a clever lad!" praised Percy.

"He's an even better prankster than—" began George.

"—we are. Good old Skull!" finished Fred. "Drives Peeves insane! Watch this." Fred pulled three lemon drops from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Skull immediately flew onto the table, picked up a lemon drop in his foot and said in Dumbledore's voice, "Would you care for a lemon drop, my boy?" The raven then held out the sweet for one of the twins to take.

"Don't mind if I do, sir!" chuckled George, and he took the sweet and popped it in his mouth.

Skull bobbed his head, then picked up a lemon drop and swallowed it. "One for you and one for me," he said, still using the Headmaster's genial tone.

Several Gryffindors clapped and a few laughed outright.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Won't he get sick from eating that? I thought candy wasn't good for birds."

"Skull eats everything," said Angelina Johnson. "He's a raven, they eat garbage and dead things."

Skull hissed and then cried, "I vant to suck your blood!" mimicking Bella Lugosi's Count Dracula to the life. He then pecked at Dean's arm gently and stuck his beak into Ron's beaker of pumpkin juice and drank some.

"Hey! Get your own!" Ron cried.

"Get your own! Get your own!" the raven cawed, clearly delighted to have a new voice to mimic.

"Bloody damn menace!" Ron grumbled, shoving his beaker away. "I'll bet he's Snape's spy."

Skull tilted his head and then snapped, "Mind your language, Weasley, or else it's detention and twenty points from Gryffindor."

Rom flinched at the familiar tone of Snape's voice censoring him. Before he could try and shoo the annoying creature away, Skullduggery took flight, soaring across the hall to land lightly upon his master's shoulder, where he began to preen his black feathers and also groom Severus's hair absently.

Harry saw Snape reach up and stroke the raven gently. "I've never seen him before. How come?"

"Skull comes and goes as he pleases," Oliver told him. "He's into everything too, so you'd best watch what you say. There are no secrets around a raven, they'll repeat anything, no matter how private or how embarrassing, if they happen to overhear it. That's just how they are."

"Ravens are the keepers of the old magics," said Katie Bell.

"Ravens can also predict when someone will die," Fred said in sepulchral tones.

"Or they can bring good fortune," added Alicia Spinnet.

"Skull is a greater raven from the Tower of London," added a Gryffindor sixth year. "He was born there and I've heard he returns there for a few weeks each year, because of the legend."

"What legend?" asked Hermione.

"You mean, you've never heard about the legend of the ravens in the Tower of London?"

"The one that says there must be at least six ravens at the Tower or else the White Tower shall crumble to dust and if all the ravens ever leave, than the Tower of London shall fall into ruin and so will England? That legend?"

The sixth year nodded. "Well, that's one of them. The Muggle version. We wizards have our own legend. The ravens are Keepers of the Old Ways and they keep watch over England. It's said that they warn of the coming of evil and darkness and if they aren't heeded or a wizard does not show them proper respect, they will all leave and then the darkness shall cover the land, never to be lifted. That's why it's a crime to mistreat a raven, or to kill one. And when a raven speaks, wizards listen, even if it sounds like nonsense."

"How did Snape end up with a familiar like that?" asked Ron. "I would have thought he'd have a bat."

"Skullduggery chose him." Oliver replied. "Ravens do the choosing, not the wizard or witch. And once you're a raven's chosen, it's for life."

"I wish a raven would choose me," said a girl wistfully.

"How do they choose people?" asked Harry.

Percy shrugged. "Nobody knows. It's one of the great mysteries. Like wands choosing the wizard."

"How come Snape wants you to go see Pomfrey?" asked Ron, eyeing Harry up and down.

"Uh . . .she probably wants to make sure I'm all healed from last night," Harry fibbed. He wished Ron hadn't reminded him. He had a sinking feeling that this visit to the infirmary wasn't about his recent injuries, but the threatened physical Snape had promised he would set up. For a moment he considered not going, but then though better of it. For one thing, he didn't want to lose more points for Gryffindor, for another, he feared that if he didn't show up on his own, Snape would take matters into his own hands and drag him by the ear to the Hospital Wing. "Would you tell McGonagall where I am, so she won't mark me late for class?"

"Sure, mate."

"I'll take notes for you," offered Hermione. "Then you won't need to worry about missing anything."

"Thanks," said Harry gratefully, hoping the exam was really short and he could get back to class as soon as possible. He headed out of the hall just before the bell rang for the first class, figuring the sooner he got to the Hospital Wing, the sooner he could get the dreaded appointment over with. He fervently hoped there would be no vaccinations needed and that Severus would be there so he could ask him more questions about his raven familiar.

"One last scan, Mr. Potter, and then we're done," announced Madam Pomfrey as she ran her wand over Harry's abdomen.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. The exam had only taken five minutes or so, but he felt as if Pomfrey had examined every inch of him with her spells, and even though the spells didn't hurt, he still felt rather embarrassed.

The mediwitch didn't say much during the scans, just hmmed and muttered as she noted things down upon a piece of parchment. Harry wondered if that were a good or bad thing.

He was the only one in the infirmary this morning, except for the mediwitch and Professor Snape, who had appeared suddenly right after Harry had crossed the threshold of the Hospital Wing, Skull riding upon his shoulder. "You have arrived promptly, Mr. Potter. Five points to Gryffindor."

"Sir, you're here!" Harry exclaimed.

Snape arched an eyebrow. "I am. As your current guardian, I need to make certain you are in good health, and therefore am present to discuss the results of your examination with Madam Pomfrey."

"Be a good boy and you'll get a lolly," Skull croaked, and made a sound remarkably like laughter.

Harry grinned and said, "He's your familiar, isn't he?"

"Yes. He is a greater Tower raven, and comes from a long line of sacred birds," Severus told him. "Skullduggery, say hello to Harry."

The raven cocked his head, and repeated in Snape's voice, "Hello, Harry."

The Potions Master sighed. "Must you mimic me so often, Skull?"

"Indeed, professor," his familiar said in the cultured tones of an Oxford don. Then the raven added in a sweet syrupy voice, "I love you, Sev."

Harry almost exploded from laughter and even Pomfrey was smirking.

"Stop that, you impudent rascal!"

Skull tucked his head under his wing and made some very realistic sniveling noises. "Don't you love me anymore, Sevvy?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "For the love of Merlin, bird, quit the dramatics."

The raven wailed like a newborn baby, loud and obnoxious.

"Wretch!" Snape growled fondly. "Do you not know the answer by now, O Brilliant One?"

Skullduggery stopped wailing and hissed, "Obviously." Then he climbed upon Snape's head and began to sing lustily, "O Danny boy, the pipes—" in a fine Scottish tenor.

"Skull! Quiet!" ordered his exasperated master. "Poppy can't concentrate with your caterwauling."

"—the pipes are calling—"

"Every time he comes home from the Tower he acts as if he forgot all the manners I ever taught him," grumbled Snape. He scowled, but his glare had little effect. "Enough!"

"From glen to glen," warbled the raven.

"Or else no sunflower seeds and ground beef with honey."

Skull cut off in mid note. That was his favorite treat. "Everyone's a critic!" the bird snorted, then he flew down and perched upon the hospital bed next to Harry, turning his back and acting affronted.

Harry giggled and cautiously extended a hand.

"Careful. He's been known to nip," warned Severus.

But the raven allowed Harry to scratch him along his back, making a sound like a contented cat.

Poppy began her scans then.

After the last one, she waved her wand and a small vial of a deep green potion appeared upon her tray. "Please drink this potion, Mr. Potter. It's a Nutrient Suppliment."

Harry obediently drank it down, it tasted like leafy green vegetables, not quite as unpleasant as one would believe. "Why do I need that?" he asked after he had swallowed the entire draft.

"Because you are severely vitamin and mineral deficient." Poppy answered. "My scans showed that you have had inadequate meals ever since you were three or four onwards, which has resulted in decreased bone mass, appetite, and malnutrition. Due to your below average weight, you have not yet hit a growth spurt, as is normal for your age. You are lacking in iron and several essential amino acids, calcium, fiber, and potassium. How long have those Muggles been starving you?"

Harry opened his mouth to protest, as he had been taught to never reveal the truth, but then he halted. Severus had promised to protect him, so maybe it was time to stop lying. He gazed at Severus uncertainly.

Snape laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right. You can trust Poppy. She's sworn to maintain patient confidentiality."

Harry took a deep breath. If Severus said it was all right, Harry knew he had naught to fear. Then he began to speak. "They—they never really gave me proper meals. I always had to wait till they were done, then I got what was left over. I helped Aunt Petunia cook and wash up after, I wasn't allowed to eat with the rest of them."

"Why not?" Severus demanded.

"Because I was a freak and not fit to eat with normal people," Harry replied tonelessly, with the air of someone who has been made to repeat such things by rote.

Madam Pomfrey gasped. "Mr. Potter, you are no such thing!"

Severus' mouth tightened and he looked at the mediwitch. "What else? Any sign of an ulcer or other digestive complaint?"

She shook her head. "No, though his stomach has shrunken due to lack of proper meals. But that can be fixed by a healthy balanced diet of small meals each day that increase portions slowly. There is also evidence of a broken wrist and a few scars from glass and poor eyesight."

Snape questioned him. "How did you break your wrist?"

"Dudley pushed me down the stairs. Another friend of his shoved me through a porch window."

"How awful!" exclaimed Poppy. "I hope they were punished properly."

"Oh no, ma'am. Dudley would tell Aunt Petunia I was clumsy and tripped and it was my own fault."

"And she believed that?" Poppy was appalled.

"She always believed Dudley, no matter what. He was her son."

"And you were her _nephew_."

"That never counted." Harry said simply.

Severus reached out and brushed Harry's bangs aside and touched a small scar above his left eyebrow. "Where did you get this?"

"That one I got when Dudley tripped me and I fell and hit my head on the cupboard under the stairs."

"They made you do chores then?" Severus surmised.

"Yes, sir. All the time. I had to wash the clothes, dishes, and scrub the bathrooms. Do the weeding and gardening and vacuuming. Cook breakfast." He ticked off chores on his fingers.

"What did your aunt and uncle and cousin do?" asked the Potions Master.

"Uncle Vernon worked, Aunt Petunia went to her clubs or shopping and Dudley didn't do anything except watch the telly or get his friends to play Harry Hunting with him. Oh, and sometimes they used to wreck my cupboard for fun."

"Your cupboard?" Snape repeated, his eyes smoldering.

"Yes, because it was where I slept."

"Excuse me? You _slept_ in a _cupboard_?"

Harry nodded. "Ever since I could remember. Dudley wouldn't give up his second bedroom and Aunt Petunia said it was better than the garage."

Poppy looked as if she were about to explode, or weep, or tear someone's throat out. Severus looked grim and furious, but unsurprised. Petunia had never really had much of a heart, and it seemed that where her nephew was concerned, she had no heart whatsoever.

"Those—those _filthy despicable_ Muggles!" Pomfrey cried.

Severus nodded, then said, "Blood doesn't always tell, and it doesn't guarantee affection and love either." He knew that all too well, and once more he marveled at how similar Harry's childhood was to his own.

"Severus, he _cannot _go back to those disgusting people," Poppy said stridently.

"He won't be. I'll make sure of that," Severus stated firmly. "Are you through, then?"

"Almost. You'll be needing new glasses, Mr. Potter. I can have them ordered from Wizarding Occulars and shipped here in two days. Those glasses you have now aren't fit for the rubbish bin. Would you like to pick out frames?"

"Uh, okay."

She handed him a catalogue and he looked at the frames. Then he picked out ones that were narrow rimmed and looked better than his old clunky black ones.

"I'd like these, please." He showed her which ones.

"Very well. Now, off to class with you, . I shall owl you when your glasses arrive and Professor Snape shall make sure you receive your Nutrient Potion every day." Poppy shooed him from the infirmary.

Skullduggery flew upon Severus' shoulder and cawed a goodbye to Harry. He accompanied Snape up to the Headmaster's office, knowing Albus would most likely be there this morning.

"Enter," called Albus cheerily.

Severus opened the door and walked in.

"Ah, Severus! What brings you to my office? Hello, Skull! Glad to see you back again."

"Hello, Albus!" the raven cawed. Then he flew off Severus' shoulder and perched upon the back of the Headmaster's chair. He began to preen himself lazily.

"I have an important matter to discuss with you." Severus began. "It concerns Potter."

"Harry? What has the boy done now, Severus? Blown up a cauldron? You must be patient, he's still learning."

"This has nothing to do with Potter's potions skills." Snape interjected before the Headmaster could go off on a tangent.

"Oh? Then what?"

"How often did you go and check up on Potter while he was growing up with those Muggles?" Severus demanded, his eyes hard.

"I . . .well, I had Mrs. Figg living near them and she used to watch Harry occasionally. She assured me he was a sweet even-tempered child, quiet and polite."

"Did you ever ask her if she noticed anything . . .unusual about him? Such as being too thin for his age, or starting at a raised voice?"

"Why, no. I assumed if there were something wrong, she would have told me." Albus said, clearly puzzled. "Why are you asking me about this? I told you long ago that I had set strong blood wards about the house and you need never fear Death Eaters getting through the barrier."

Snape's mouth twisted. "You might have made wards against the devil you knew but what about the one you _didn't_ know? What good are blood wards if the one they are meant to protect is treated like an outcast or a slave by his family?"

Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "Severus, calm down. I don't understand."

"You will. Listen." Severus told the Headmaster everything Harry had said to him, after swearing him to a Vow of Silence. He also added in Poppy's testimony telling him of the daily Nutrient Potion Harry needed to drink.

Dumbledore had gone pale and struggled to make sense out of everything. " I wasn't aware of any of this, Severus. You must believe me, but I had no idea what was going on at the Dursleys. After the note I had left in the bassinet, reminding Petunia to care for her sister's child, as Lily would have cared for hers—"

Severus snorted. "Petunia wasn't Lily. Lily had more empathy in her fingernail than Petunia has in her entire body. You should have made sure he would be looked after."

"He was their blood, and a baby, I assumed they would grow to care for him . . ."

"Did you now? You ought to have made certain, Albus! All this time, while you were puttering about trying to decipher that bloody prophecy, your savior was being bullied and harassed . . .by _his own family_! Anything could have happened!"

Albus looked regretful and upset. "If I had suspected that something were not right—"

The raven made a disapproving noise and cried, "You're a bad boy, Al! A Ba-a-d boy!"

"Quiet!" snapped Severus.

"Yes, Sev," the bird said meekly, but his beady eyes followed the Headmaster intently, and he tisked at him.

Snape made an impatient gesture with one hand. "You should have made sure, Albus! You should seen with your own two eyes, not relied on Arabella. Not for this! Not after what happened with me."

The Headmaster looked suddenly old, and every one of his hundred and fifty years. "You are right, Severus. My carelessness could have cost the boy his life. But what's done is done. Harry is here now, safe at Hogwarts."

"But what about later? Who will save him at the end of the term, when he must return to a household that despises him for what he is and wizards in general? How safe will your Golden Boy be then?" challenged Snape.

Skull made a gagging noise and toppled over to land with a thump on Albus' desk.

Severus nodded grimly at his familiar's antics. "Exactly. Thank you, Skull."

Albus chuckled and went to stroke the glossy feathers.

The raven turned about and nipped the wizard in reproof. "Bloody damn Muggles! There's nothing worse than an old coot who willna admit he's wrong." Minerva's voice emerged from the raven's mouth.

Albus winced. "Severus, if I remove him from Privet Drive, the wards shall fall and then Harry will be vulnerable. He has to remain there."

"Remain in a place he hates, with people who hate him? No, Albus. Do that and you are no better than my mother, who condemned me to a life of hell because she hadn't the courage to send me away!"

"I am sorry, Severus. But what else can I do?"

"Transfer the wards to me. I am his unofficial guardian, but I can make it legal."

"Severus, that's very noble of you, but—"

"Nobility be damned, Albus! I am doing what is right, what someone should have done for me long ago." Severus declared pointedly. "I will not stand by and allow a child I promised to protect suffer the torments of bullies and bastard Muggles. What is worth more, Albus, your bloody prophecy or one child's life?"

"That is unfair, Severus!"

"No. What's unfair is you playing God with people's lives. The Dursleys aren't schoolboys and this isn't some prank, someday they will go too far and then where will you be?"

"Severus, you cannot take him. Your cover as my agent-"

"Is blown all to pieces. My days as your spy are over. My duty now is to Lily's son. Transfer the damn wards. Petunia broke her promise to you. Now let her suffer the consequences. I assume your contract with her was the standard one?" Severus asked. He knew that when Albus had brought Harry there and linked the wards to Petunia, he had most likely included a clause that stated if the child was mistreated and removed permanently from said residence before seventeen, it was a breach of contract, and bad luck and trouble would harry them for years. Such was a standard penalty for oathbreakers in a world where words were binding.

"Very well. If you are determined upon this course of action, Severus—"

Snape met the other's eyes steadily. "I am, Albus Dumbledore. What promises I make, I keep."

"Go to the Ministry and have them draw up the papers for guardianship. I shall see to the Dursleys. Despite what you may think, I don't condone hurting a child for any reason." The blue eyes suddenly flashed chained lightning. "Then you can speak to Harry and explain what we wish to do. He must agree before I shall sign as a witness."

"All right. I shall speak to him tonight, after his detention." Severus rose and turned to leave. He whistled for the raven, who quit eating all Albus' lemon drops and flew onto his arm. "One way or another, this should be resolved soon." Then he swept out of the office and headed towards the dungeons. He had a class to teach and a trip to make and a child's future to ensure. He just hoped that he would be able to live up to his promise and that Harry would not reject him as a guardian.

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**I was going to have the detention in this chapter, but figured it would be better if given its own, as there is a lot going on in this one.**

**How did you like Sev's familiar? For those of you who aren't familiar with the word, Skullduggery means underhanded or unscrupulous or trickly and sly dealings. I thought the name fit the raven well.**

**Note: The song "Danny Boy" is an old Scottish ballad, author unknown.**

**How will Harry react to Sev's request?**


	4. The Offer

**4**

**The Offer**

Hermione had managed to get a large flyer posted in the Entrance Hall requesting donations to help restore the library of either books or money. She had set up wooden boxes with House symbols on them so students could either put money in them, or books in the basket below them. She had also managed to copy some more flyers and handed them out to the prefects at each table, requesting that they post them in their common rooms. No one seemed to object and indeed many students seemed eager to help out. Hermione was delighted with the response she was getting.

Harry couldn't wait for the weekend, when Professor Snape would take him to Gringotts to withdraw some money so he too could make generous contribution to the library fund. He would make it an anonymous donation, only he and Severus would know about it. He was already famous for living instead of dying, he didn't want to be known as The Boy Who Was Rich too. Even if it was true.

What he _wasn't_ looking forward to was tonight's detention with Malfoy. He was afraid Malfoy would try and get him in trouble again. He also had heard stories about how unpleasant Snape was during his detentions towards students. Harry did not enjoy it at all when Severus was upset with him, it made him feel ashamed, that he had let Severus down by misbehaving. He doubted if Malfoy felt the same. When he had glanced over at the Slytherin table, he had seen Malfoy laughing and talking with his friends, acting as if nothing was wrong. In contrast, Harry was filled with trepidation and could barely swallow his lunch.

Up at the staff table, Snape picked at his lunch as well, nervousness making him lose his appetite. He almost regretted his rash decision to be Potter's legal guardian. Almost, because he feared he might do as poor a job as Potter's relatives had done. Not that he would ever neglect the boy, but Severus knew there was more to raising a child than simply supplying material comforts and necessities. Could he be what Harry needed? Did he _want_ to be a father figure to an eleven-year-old boy, even if he was his beloved Lily's child? Most of all, would _Harry_ want him to play the role James Potter would have filled? Snape was certain that Dumbledore and Minerva had told the boy only good things about the former Quidditch player. None of them would have wanted to tarnish Potter's image by mentioning how cruel and nasty he had been towards Severus at school. Everyone always seemed to make excuses for Potter during school, shrugging off the things he did to Severus and to others as mere pranks, but there had been a dark side to James that few had ever seen save his victims. Lily had seen it, though. Had seen it and had somehow managed to . . .overlook it, forgive it? Severus would never understand how she could have fallen for the arsehole Potter had been back then. He shook his head. There was no sense in speculating over what was past. What mattered was now.

Despite his being Head of Slytherin and dealing with children on a daily basis, Severus was afraid he would not be an adequate guardian. He had not had a decent father growing up, Tobias had been an abusive drunk who had battered his wife and son into fearful obedience, until Severus rebelled at seventeen and left, though not before he nearly beat the bastard to death. Severus hated the fact that he had inherited Tobias's hair trigger temper. It was something he worked hard to control daily, especially around smartarse arrogant students who delighted in mouthing off to every teacher in the school. But at the end of the day he could retreat to his quarters and meditate, or brew, or drink a cup of tea to calm himself down. He wouldn't have that option with Harry, who was his ward, and would therefore be able to stay in his quarters if he chose. What if Harry caused him to lose control? What if he raised a hand to the boy? Hurt Harry the way Tobias had hurt him? Lily had told him to love the boy as she would have. But what if he was incapable of such a thing? His experiences as a spy had made him bitter and hard, how could he love again after so long? Yet, he did care about the boy. He felt compassion and anger at what the child had endured. He was concerned when Harry was hurt and determined that he not be bullied by the likes of Malfoy. But was that love? And what if he did grow to love the boy, but Harry rejected him?

He felt his head start to throb with all of the conflicting thought and emotions swirling in his head. He could not believe how much turmoil one small boy had made out of his life. What had possessed him in making that declaration? _You know why, Severus. Because you didn't trust Albus not to send him back to that hellhole. Because no child should have to endure what you did for all those years. And because you promised Lily you'd take care of him,_ whispered his conscience.

He would not be foresworn, but at the same time the task he had undertaken seemed monumental. He would be responsible for Harry until the boy was of age, and probably beyond that too. It was a very sobering and frightening thought. Once again he asked himself if he were doing the right thing. How could he ever measure up to the ghost of bloody James Potter, hero? And why would he even want to try? He sneered mentally at himself. No, Harry would have to accept him as he was, a flesh and blood man, not some storybook fantasy father.

He stabbed a forkful of chicken and dumplings and swallowed. He would simply have to wait and see.

Draco was feeling quite satisfied with himself after class that day. He had managed to win ten points for answering Sprout's question about self-pollinating snapdragons correctly, and he wasn't all that concerned over the upcoming detention. He knew Snape would give the lion's share of the dirty work to Potter, since Potter deserved it for starting with him and was a Gryffindor besides. Draco, as a Slytherin, wouldn't be doing all that much.

He sauntered into the common room, prepared to ask Blaise or Daniel Mott if they wanted to play a round of Exploding Snap before dinner. But he didn't see any of his yearmates in the common room, just some older third, fourth, and fifth years. Before he could head to his room, Marcus Flint, the Slytherin prefect for that year, caught him by the shoulder. "Malfoy. I want to talk to you."

Malfoy looked up at the beefy Quidditch Captain, his grey-blue eyes puzzled. "What for, Flint? I was going to—"

"Shut up. And it's _Prefect_ Flint to you, firstie." Flint interrupted, angered by the younger boy's lack of respect as well as what he had done previously to earn the displeasure of his Head of House. He pulled Draco into a corner of the room, far enough away to not be overheard too much. Then he began his lecture, because Malfoy needed it more than any other Slytherin he'd ever known, the little snob. "How is it that you manage to get Professor Snape in such a snarky mood and it's only been a few months into the term? What the bloody hell is wrong with you, dueling Potter right in front of Snape's quarters? Do you think he's deaf? Or stupid?"

"No, but Potter started it. He cast a Repelling Charm at me." Draco whined.

"That's a load of dung, Malfoy, and we both know it." Flint sneered. "I'm not stupid. Potter doesn't have the balls to start a duel, and the professor told me himself Potter was in the dungeons to ask him a question about homework."

"How was I supposed to know that? He could've been lying!" protested Draco. He couldn't believe Flint was getting on his arse for dueling bloody Potter.

"All you had to do, Malfoy, was go to the professor. _He_ would have dealt with Potter. Instead, you had to act like some rich toff and duel him! Which made us lose fifty points! Idiot! I thought you were supposed to have a brain, Malfoy!"

Draco stiffened. "So what if I thrashed Potter in a duel? He's a Gryffindor, we're supposed to hate them. And I didn't lose fifty points, it was only thirty."

"_Only_ thirty, he says. Listen, you arrogant little shit, you're not supposed to lose _any _points, or as little as possible." Flint growled. "You're _especially_ not supposed to make Professor Snape take points from his own House for breaking one of the most important rules the school has. And, for your information, Malfoy, McGonagall took twenty more points for you saying some nasty thing about her Golden Boy's sainted mum!"

"He insulted mine too!"

"Big deal! You didn't have to flaming hex him till he bled. If you wanted to get back at him, there are a dozen different ways you could have done it without involving the teachers. Instead you act as stupid as your pals Crabbe and Goyle. Unbelievable!" Flint shook his head in disgust. "Just for that, you're going to get an additional punishment from me."

"Huh? You—you can't do that!" squeaked Malfoy.

"Watch me. I'm a prefect, and I have the authority to punish you little snakes if you step out of line. You aren't any better than the rest of us, Malfoy, so quit bloody looking down at us like we were dirt beneath your feet. I could give a rat's ass if your daddy's pals with the Minister. So, because you caused us to lose all those points, you're going to do some extra chores around here this weekend. And you're going to write two hundred times, _I will never lose fifty points from Slytherin again._ We'll see if that won't cure you of your bloody attitude, Malfoy!"

"I have homework!"

Flint shrugged. "Too damn bad. You can do that after you've served the House and written your lines. Next time keep your wand in your damn pocket. Got me?" Flint glared at the smaller boy threateningly. "Or else I'll take you out back and show you what it's like to duel a _real_ wizard."

Draco shrank from him. The look on Flint's face was cold and hard and Malfoy suddenly was afraid. Marcus looked as though he meant every word and Draco knew if the other ever lifted a wand to him, he was dead meat. "All right, Prefect."

"Good. Now get out of my sight. And remember, what you do in public reflects on your House and everyone in it. So don't disgrace us again, Malfoy!" He gave the blond a rough shove and Malfoy stumbled into the middle of the room.

Several of the other Slytherins studying gave him cold looks of disapproval. Draco felt himself flush and thought angrily, _how dare they judge me! I'm the son of Lucius Malfoy, the Minister's right hand! Someday, they'll be sorry!_

He turned and headed to his room, the eyes of his Housemates like daggers between his shoulderblades.

Then, if that weren't bad enough, Professor Snape himself called him into his office an half-an-hour earlier than his detention to dress him down also.

"Prefect Flint told me he assigned you some lines and chores in House this weekend." Snape began, eyeing Malfoy sternly. "He told me your attitude leaves something to be desired. I must say I agree with him. You believe you are above the rules, Mr. Malfoy. You are a spoiled bully who thinks you can get away with anything. You are very much mistaken." Severus said coldly. "I do not tolerate bullies, in my House or out of it. What you did is inexcusable."

"Why?" Draco asked sullenly. He was tired of everyone ragging on him for beating up poor little Potter. "It was just Potter. He's a Gryffindor, we're supposed to be enemies."

"Rivals, not enemies," Severus snapped. "There's a difference. Why did you cast the Bone Break Curse on him when he only cast a Repelling Charm? That curse should only be used when you fear for your life. Did Potter frighten you so much that you thought he might kill you?"

Malfoy snorted. "Professor, please! Potter, frighten _me_? I knew more hexes by the time I was three than Potter learned in two months here." He boasted.

Snape was not impressed, only irritated. "And yet you cast a hex designed to injure severely at a boy who knew barely a month's worth of spells. And that makes you proud? To defeat an opponent who is so much less skilled than you? What does that prove?"

"That I'm better than him?" Draco said cockily.

"Wrong!" Snape's hand slammed down upon his desk. Draco jumped. "It shows me that you are an insufferable bully and a fool. You could have _killed_ another student last night, boy! Aimed incorrectly, you could have shattered his nose, driving pieces into his brain, snapped his femur and severed an artery, causing internal bleeding. Potter could have died, and all because you felt like proving how superior you were! Because your ego couldn't stand the competition! Tell me, Malfoy, what would you have done if Potter died that night?"

Malfoy's eyes went wide. "I . . .don't know, sir."

"Maybe you ought to think about it then! Because if you had killed Potter, even your father's influence couldn't have kept you from being expelled and maybe arrested as well. Not to mention branded a murderer at eleven years old. Your mother would surely be proud of you then, wouldn't she, Malfoy?" Snape's disapproval was palpable.

Malfoy dropped his gaze to the floor. He had never considered that his hex could have had such disastrous results. "No, sir."

"What was that?"

"No, sir," Malfoy repeated loudly.

"No, she would be consumed by shame and horror, that her son could become a cold-blooded killer over such a minor thing as meeting a rival student in the corridor. Such spells as that should only be used in dire circumstances, _not_ in some pathetic schoolboy quarrel. If your father didn't teach you that, he should have. Never use a curse unless you intend to cripple or kill an opponent. An opponent who seeks to take your life, not a fellow student who has barely a month's worth of study. Such a victory only proves that you are a coward, Malfoy. Because only a coward picks on a boy weaker than he is."

"I'm not a coward, sir!" Malfoy cried angrily.

"No? Prove it then. Act like a Slytherin. Follow the rules and earn points for your House. We already have a bad reputation because of certain individuals, do not add to it, Malfoy! I will not permit a student of mine to become a gutless bullying coward. And if I cannot get through to you, perhaps your mother can."

Draco gulped and turned pale as snow. "You haven't told her, Professor!" he wailed.

"Not yet. Nor have I informed the Headmaster of what happened. I am giving you one chance to shape up and behave. Keep on as you have, Malfoy, and I will have no choice but to inform Narcissa of the shame her son has brought down upon her."

"No, sir! Please don't," Draco whimpered. He did not fear his mother, not as he did Lucius, but he did value her opinion and respected her, and he knew she would be very disappointed if she knew how he had behaved. She had never agreed with Lucius teaching their son any dark magic. She was the only one who had ever showed him kindness and affection as a small child and Draco loved her fiercely. He loved Lucius as well, but that love was intermingled with fear and therefore not as enduring. "I'll be good."

Severus snorted. "We'll see about that. Go into the lab and sit down at a desk. Potter should be here shortly and then you can start scrubbing. While you are doing that, I can finish grading more of this infernal homework, which half of you don't even bother reading."

"Yes, sir." Draco hurried from the office, his ears smarting from the stinging critique. He could not really deny what Snape said was true, and that made him resentful and irritable. It wasn't fair! He'd bet a fistful of Galleons that Potter wasn't being lectured like this by his Head! Sometimes he wished Snape wasn't so bloody strict and unbending. Rules were meant to be broken. Hadn't Snape ever learned that?

Harry arrived at Snape's lab at precisely seven o'clock, as the professor had stated. He walked in and saw Malfoy sitting at a desk.

The other boy looked up and sneered at him.

Harry ignored him, peering once more at his pocket watch and smiling at his mum before shutting it and tucking it inside his shirt pocket, beneath his robes.

"What's that you got there, Potter? An heirloom from your dear old dad?"

"None of your business, Malfoy." Harry said coldly, taking a seat across the room.

As if on cue, Snape entered the room, silent as a shadow, his familiar perched upon his shoulder. The door shut with a bang behind him. "Now then, you both know why you are here. You will be scrubbing cauldrons over there," His finger pointed to the back of the room, near the sink, where many cauldrons were stacked, sticky with crusted on goop. "Without magic for two or three hours. There are gloves on the counter, and wire scrub brushes and soap also. Well? What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Why are you still sitting there like brainless lumps? Get started! Anything you don't finish will be carried over to the next day."

Draco gazed at the pile of dirty cauldrons in dismay. "All _those_?"

Snape gritted his teeth. "Yes, all those. If you don't quit dawdling, Malfoy, I shall make you scrub the floor as well. On your hands and knees."

Draco jumped up and ran over to the sink.

Harry was already there, rolling up his sleeves and pulling on the dragonhide gloves. He was no stranger to cleaning things, not after growing up at the Dursleys. He took a long handled scrub brush and began filling a bucket with water and soap. He knew better than to groan and complain like Malfoy was doing. That only made your punishment ten times worse.

He noticed that there were cauldrons of different sizes and materials. Most were the standard pewter cauldron, two were huge iron cauldrons, and a few were silver and gold cauldrons. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be a punishment, Harry couldn't help but wonder what sorts of potions were brewed in the gold and silver cauldrons. He nearly started to ask Snape, but then he shut his mouth, figuring the professor probably didn't want him talking during detention. Aunt Petunia never wanted to hear his mouth running while he did chores around the house.

Harry carefully selected one of each kind of cauldron, before Malfoy could take all the smaller ones and leave Harry with the bigger messier ones.

"Hey!" Draco objected. "What's the big idea, Potter?"

"What? I divided them up evenly, Malfoy." Harry said, leaning over and beginning to scrub out a pewter cauldron first.

Snape looked up from his desk. "More scrubbing and less complaining. And mind you don't scrub too harshly on the gold and silver cauldrons. If they're scratched, they're useless. You will also need to polish them."

"Polish them?" Malfoy goggled.

"'Till they're so bright you can see your face in them!" squawked Skull from his perch on Severus' shoulder. The raven had a devilish gleam in his eyes.

"Who asked you, bird?"

Skull hissed at him. "Only a fool refuses free advice. Stupid boy!"

"Who are you calling stupid, birdbrain?" Malfoy demanded.

"Mr. Malfoy, ignore the raven and keep cleaning. Unless you wish to be here till tomorrow evening." Snape threatened silkily. Then he frowned at his familiar. "Skullduggery, quit tormenting the students."

Skull fluffed his feathers. "Killjoy," he muttered, then went and nibbled upon Snape's extra quills.

Harry smothered a giggle at the insolent bird's antics. He had finished one cauldron already and had now begun on the largest iron one. He carefully poured a mixture of hot water and soap in to it and let it soak while he turned to wash out the silver one.

That one took less time and then he said quietly, "Professor? Where's the silver polish?"

"Beneath the sink, to the left of the sponges." Snape replied without glancing up.

Harry made his way to the sink, located the polish, and was coming back to his spot when Malfoy stuck out a foot and almost tripped him. Harry avoided the trap however, that trick had been pulled on him numerous times by Dudley. "Knock it off, Malfoy. Unless you want more detention," he hissed angrily.

"Kiss arse." Draco spat under his breath.

Harry began polishing the cauldron, trying his best to ignore Malfoy's taunts.

They were about halfway through their detention when a knock sounded. Snape looked up from his grading irritably. "Yes? What is it now?"

"Sorry to disturb you, Severus, but Dumbeldore wanted me to ask you to referee the next Quidditch game," Madam Hooch said. "I can't do it, I'll be on holiday."

Snape sighed. He detested Quidditch, though he knew the rules of the game inside and out. "Very well, Rolanda. Tell him I shall do so. After all, I have nothing else to do with my time than waste it refereeing that bloody game, never mind the potions I need to brew or the tests I have to grade," he muttered under his breath.

While Severus was distracted, Skull decided it was too dull and decided to liven things up by singing.

"_Bad boys, bad boys_

_Whatcha gonna do?_

_"Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"_

Harry started laughing uncontrollably. He wondered where the raven had learned that song? It was a theme song from an old show called Cops that Dudley used to watch on the telly. Really, Skull was a marvel.

"What's so funny, Potter?" growled Draco, furious that Harry seemed to be almost done with his cauldrons. "I'll tell you what you're gonna do when they come for you . . .you'll faint and wet yourself."

"You wish, Malfoy," Harry scowled. He deliberately turned his back on the other boy, refusing to be baited. He already had nearly a week's worth of detention, he would be damned if he'd add to it. He started to clean the small gold cauldron next. He was grateful for the gloves, as they kept his hands from growing red and chapped as well as protecting them from any acidic substances. Petunia had never allowed him gloves when he scrubbed her house.

Skull suddenly alighted on Draco's cauldron. "Naughty, naughty. What would Mother say?" the raven croaked, imitating an elderly nanny.

Draco was not amused. He detested cleaning anything, and would have preferred preparing potions ingredients to this menial labor. He flicked soapsuds at the familiar. "Go bugger yourself, Skull," he growled.

The raven, in full mischievous mode, tisked at him. "Language, young man!" he said in Snape's voice. "Or would you like to taste soap along with that sandwich?"

Harry turned about quickly to see who had said that, and smirked when he saw Skull lecturing Malfoy. The bird was very entertaining, no wonder the twins adored him.

"Stuff it, bird!" Malfoy snapped. Under other circumstances, such as Skull teasing Potter, he might well have laughed at the raven's perfect mimicry and wit. Now, however . . .Then he caught Potter smirking at him, the insufferable little twit. "What are you smiling at, Potter? Think it's funny, do you?" He glared at the raven. "Skull, go and torment Potter, why don't you?"

The raven cocked his head, then cawed, "No." Then he began to tap out the notes to the song he'd sung earlier with his beak on Draco's cauldron.

Harry turned away, his shoulders shaking silently.

Furious, Draco picked up a smaller scrub brush, one used to apply polish to the expensive cauldrons, and flung it in a fit of temper. He had been aiming at the smug Harry, but the brush's handle struck the bobbing raven instead, knocking the bird off the cauldron.

Skullduggery screeched loudly in shock and pain.

Draco froze in horror.

Snape whirled around upon hearing his familiar's cry of distress and saw the raven lying next to Malfoy's cauldron and the brush falling down to smack into the stone floor with a thump. It took a millisecond to see who was guilty. "Malfoy!" he spat. "You dare to harm my familiar?" Fury bubbling in his eyes, he stalked over to the cringing boy and grabbed him expertly by the ear.

Draco yelped, for Snape's fingers pinched his ear like a raptor's claws. "Oww! Sir, I didn't mean to! I was aiming at Potter. Sir, please, I'm sorry!"

"You're going to be a hell of a lot more sorry when I get through with you. Go and stand in the corner behind my desk. Now!"

Draco nodded frantically. Snape released his ear, kneeling and gently picking up the dazed raven. "There now, Skull. Are you hurt?"

The raven allowed Severus to examine him, making sure his wings were not broken and gently feeling him over. "Stupid boy!" Skull cawed. "Naughty brat!"

Snape nodded grimly. The raven seemed unharmed. "How do you feel?"

"Sheepish," Skull answered. "Ba-aa-aa!" His imitation of a sheep was dead on.

Severus gave a sigh of relief. "If you can imitate a sheep, you're fine."

Skull nodded once. "Told you so, Sev." He stood up and then fluttered over and perched upon Harry's shoulder.

"Hello, Skull."

Skull cawed. "Have you ever heard the one about the shepherdess and the priest?"

"Uh, no."

"Skullduggery, don't you _dare_ repeat that!" Severus interjected. "Bloody damn Abe and his off-color jokes."

"How about a man walked into a bar with a chameleon?" Skull began.

"Skullduggery! I'm warning you. No treats for a week if you repeat any joke that Abe or Albus told you, am I clear?"

The sly raven cawed an affirmative.

"Potter, how many cauldrons do you have left to scrub?"

"Two, Professor."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "You work fast, boy. Finish up and then go and wait in my office. I have something important to discuss with you."

"Yes, sir." Harry said, and turned back to his cauldrons. He was both curious and anxious about the coming discussion. He didn't bother to reveal that he was a champion scrubber because the Dursleys never lifted a finger to wash up anything and he had to do it all.

Snape stalked up to the front of the room and said icily, "Malfoy, my office."

Draco headed into the office, wondering how much trouble he was now in for hurting Snape's familiar. Damn Potter! He wished the other boy would drown in his own cauldron.

Severus counted to ten slowly four times before following his disobedient Slytherin into the office. When he was certain he wouldn't throttle the boy, he allowed himself to confront Draco. "You amaze me, Mr. Malfoy. It's only been an hour since I last lectured you and still you flout my authority and worse, you hurt my familiar!"

"It was an accident, Professor! I didn't mean to hit Skull. I wanted to hit Potter for making fun of me."

"Oh, and that makes it all right?" Snape demanded. "Didn't I just finish telling you I will not tolerate bullies in my House? It seems as though you have a problem obeying me, Malfoy. Do you know that were this the previous century, I could call you out in a duel for injuring my familiar, especially a raven familiar? You are not some Muggleborn fresh from London, you have been raised with wizarding etiquette and tradition, and you know the proper way to behave. Or so I thought. I must have been mistaken. You've behaved no better than a two-year-old in a temper. You will now go back in the lab and scrub ten more cauldrons. Obviously you didn't have enough work to keep you out of trouble. Furthermore, since you seem to regard my dictates as something to be obeyed only when _you_ feel like it, I shall inform Narcissa about your transgressions."

"No! Don't!"

"Stop telling me what to do, Malfoy! One way or another, you are going to learn the value of obedience and if I cannot get through to you, perhaps your mother shall."

"No. Don't tell her." Draco pleaded, giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Go back and finish your cauldrons, boy. And send Potter in here." Snape was unmoved. The boy had gone too far, had crossed the line one too many times.

Draco slunk from the room like a whipped cur. He couldn't believe that Snape was actually going to tell his mother! Narcissa would be most displeased. He was sure he would get a Howler before the afternoon tomorrow.

Severus rubbed the back of his hand across his head, where the beginnings of a tension headache were starting. Normally he did not involve parents in his disciplinary actions. Usually his detentions and lectures were enough to make even the most rebellious student toe the mark, especially if they were snakes. He felt that parents should not get involved unless it was deadly serious. But he knew that Draco would lose all respect for him if he went back upon his word. Much as he disliked it, he would be writing a letter to Narcissa that night.

But first he had to discuss his decision to become Potter's legal guardian. And truth be told, he dreaded that more than he did the conversation with Narcissa. He drew in a deep breath.

Harry entered the office a moment later, his sleeves still rolled up, exposing his thin spindly arms and smelling faintly of soap and water and grease. His dark hair was sticking up all over, and it was plain he was dying to know why Snape had summoned him, but he held his tongue. Skull was sitting on his shoulder, preening.

Severus gestured him to a seat, then he sealed the office with an Impenetrable Charm, so no one could hear what was spoken.

"Am I in trouble?" Harry asked, wanting to know right away so he could prepare himself.

"In trouble? For what?"

Harry shrugged and looked down at the floor. At the Dursleys, he was always the one in trouble, whether or not he had actually done something. He prayed that was not the case here. He had begun to trust Snape, but old habits died hard. "I dunno, sir."

"Tell me when you figure out what you are supposed to have done," said Snape dryly. Then he cleared his throat. "I have called you here to . . .put forth a proposition, Harry. After seeing the results of Madam Pomfrey's scans, I have strong objections to you returning to your relatives' house for break or the summer. It is obvious to me that you are unwanted and they regard you as a burden."

"I . . .I try not to be, sir." Harry said, feeling unaccountably guilty. "I try and do what they want, but somehow, no matter what I do, it's never enough."

"What do they require of you?"

Harry told him about the endless chores, saying that Uncle Vernon had told him they weren't running a charity home and he had to earn his keep. He also told the professor about how the Dursleys lied to the neighbors and had it put about that Harry was a disturbed delinquent who belonged in reform school and was always in trouble. "They were always threatening to ship me off to St. Brutus', where they beat you with sticks and stuff. Aunt Petunia had the application all filled out and ready to mail when the letters from Hogwarts started arriving."

Severus was so furious he almost exploded. "Earn your keep? Considering that the Headmaster sent them a stipend each month, they had no reason to complain about money. From what you have told me, it seems your cousin could have benefited from reform school, not you. You have no reason to feel guilty. You cannot please them because they are the kind of people who revel in misery and are never satisfied. Nothing you have done or could do would ever be enough. So don't waste a minute worrying about what those _people_ think."

"Yes, sir," Harry said. Snape's words made him feel something he rarely felt—pleased with himself. He could tell the professor truly meant what he said, and he knew that Severus was a firm believer in hard work, and if Snape said the Dursleys were impossible to please than surely it was so.

"Now then, I have spoken to the Headmaster about their unsuitability to take care of you. Putting a child in a cupboard and turning him into a slave is unacceptable by any standards, wizard or Muggle. I never would have placed you with them to start with. Your aunt was always bitter and jealous of anyone different from her, and she cut all ties to your mother when she married. She wanted nothing to do with the magical world or her sister who lived in it."

"But . . .if you knew that, then why was I left there?" Harry asked angrily.

"I had no say in where you were taken. The Headmaster felt you would be safe and hidden away best by your blood relatives," Severus said honestly. "He did not ask me or Minerva what we thought. He did not know about Petunia's dislike of wizards. He assumed you would grow up in a good home and want for nothing. He has since come to the conclusion that he was very mistaken."

"Then what happens to me now? Can I stay here at the school?"

Severus shook his head. "While that has been done in the past, Dumbledore believes the school is not as safe as it should be for you. There are rumors . . .rumors that You-Know-Who may still be alive . . .or rather, his spirit is still living."

Harry's eyes widened. "He rose from the dead?"

"In a manner of speaking. But we have no real proof. However, his followers believe it and they would not hesitate to hurt you, even kill you, if they could. You know that I am pledged to protect you. Therefore, I . . .would like to become your legal guardian, so that you can stay with me."

There! It was said.

Harry stared at him, trying his best not to gape witlessly. "You mean . . .you want to . . .you want me to live with you?"

"Yes. That is what I'm offering. While I'm at school, you would, of course stay in your dorm, or you could have a room in my quarters if you wish. During holidays, you would live at my home, which may not be as large as Petunia's, but I assure you I have no cupboards for you to sleep in, nor will I treat you like a slave. There will be chores to do and rules to follow, but I promise you will be treated like a member of my family. Most of all, no follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will be able to find you, since my residence is hidden by powerful wards. The only one who shares my home with me is Skull, and you seem to get along fine with him."

"I like him, professor. He's funny and smart."

"He's a rascal of the first order," snorted his master.

Skull flew to Severus' shoulder and rubbed his head along the Potion Master's cheek. "Keep the _bran-boy_, Sev."

Harry looked totally confused. "_Bran-boy_? I don't get it. Why is he calling me cereal?"

Snape shook his head, chuckling. "No, Harry. _Bran_ is the Welsh word for raven. Skull seems to have taken quite a liking to you if he's calling you "raven-boy". It means he considers you a fledgling, and he has never done that for any student I've known before."

"Really? But why?"

"Ask him."

Harry looked at the raven. "Why did you call me that, Skull?"

The raven fluffed his feathers. "It is what you are. You have the old magic, _bran-boy_. Rr-awk!"

"Old magic? I don't understand."

"The ravens are keepers of the old magic. He seems to think you have some of that within you. That you've been marked by it, or can use it somehow." Severus frowned. "Right, Skull?"

Skull nodded emphatically. Then he took off and flew out of the office.

"Hey! Where's he going?" Harry cried.

"Hungry!" Skullduggery answered.

"He tells me that and then he takes off because he's hungry?" Harry groused.

"That's a raven for you," Severus said. "They do as they please and reveal secrets in their own time, if at all." He gazed at Harry warily. "Well? Will you take up my offer?"

Harry worried his lip. He didn't want to refuse Severus outright. He knew that the man only wanted what was best for him. But he was afraid to accept Severus' offer right away. The professor was used to living alone, he valued his privacy. Harry feared he might cause Severus to regret taking him over the break. He recalled only too well how Petunia would complain endlessly about how much money he cost them and how much trouble it was to raise a freakish child. He did not want to agree to live with Snape, only to find that the professor found him an annoyance and a burden. But neither did he want to return to the Dursleys. He used to believe that he deserved their scorn and coldness, but now he wasn't so sure. But did he dare trust Snape to keep his word? What if he moved in and they couldn't stand each other? He wasn't Severus' son or relation, why would Snape care about him if his own blood didn't? Could Severus love him? There were times that Harry felt he could, and then again, he could see how awkward the other was, and he didn't want to force Severus into a role he didn't want.

"I . . .would you mind if . . .I thought about it? It's not that I'm not grateful, but . . .I just want to make sure it's a good thing . . ." he began, feeling very awkward. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Severus said, though he felt the sting of rejection nevertheless. He should have known. He was not the sort of man a child trusted to look after him. "I would expect you to think about it."

"Thank you, sir!" Harry said, relieved. "You aren't . . .mad, are you?"

"No. This is a big step for you. You need to be sure of yourself. Take some time and think about it. But you should decide before the holiday break. All right?"

"Yes, sir."

"If you have any questions, you may ask me. I know I have a reputation as a strict bastard, but I will never be cruel to you, never take advantage of you the way your relatives did."

Harry wanted so much to believe that were true. But he was afraid. He didn't want Severus to be his guardian out of duty. He wanted something more, something that most kids didn't even need to think about. He wanted Snape to love him. If that were possible. "I know that," he made himself say. Then he gave the professor a rueful smile. "I never thought you would."

Severus looked relieved. "Good. Think about my offer. You must be tired, so I would suggest you go to bed. It's almost curfew."

Harry knew better than to assume it was a suggestion. He knew perfectly well Snape's suggestions were orders, couched in polite phrases. "Okay, sir. Good night."

"Be here tomorrow night at seven." Severus reminded him.

"I will." Harry promised. Then he hesitantly reached out and hugged the black clad figure. He hoped he hadn't hurt Snape's feelings by not accepting his offer right off. So to soften the blow and show the professor that he still cared about him, Harry gave him a hug. It was not a particularly long hug, but Harry did rest his head against Snape's chest and feel his heart beating. He found it soothing and comforting. And Severus' arms held him close, making him feel safe and protected.

He allowed himself to be held for a moment or two longer before withdrawing. "See you tomorrow, professor."

"Sleep well, Harry. And remember to take your Nutrient Suppliment tomorrow morning," Severus reminded. "It will be by your plate at breakfast."

"Yes, sir." Then Harry left, covering a yawn.

Severus watched him leave, wondering why the boy's decision made him feel oddly bereft. He hadn't expected the child to agree so quickly. So why did Harry's choice leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth? _Did you really expect the boy to jump into your arms? The snarky dungeon bat is hardly the ideal guardian a child dreams about. _He had spent years cultivating that image, he could hardly blame Harry for being wary. Still, he could not help feeling hurt. Lily had told him to love her son. He had promised he would try. But what if Harry didn't want his love?

The Potions Master sighed. Now he would have to go back to Albus and tell him Harry wished to think about the guardianship. Which meant Dumbledore could delay the Dursleys punishment if he chose. The document Severus had obtained earlier would now sit in a drawer, awaiting the decision of one small boy. Why was everything in his life so complicated?

**Happy Halloween everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday, stay safe and have fun! **

**Please review-reviews are like candy for me! I can always eat one more.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to read this and leave me a review. I really appreciate it, even though I don't always have time to reply to everyone.**


	5. Donations and Detentions

**5**

**Detentions and Donations**

Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, troubled and heartsick. A part of him longed to turn around and return to the dungeons, knock on Severus' door and tell the professor that he had changed his mind and wanted to accept the offer of guardianship. But another part, the wary, worried, distrustful cynical part, warned him that if he did that, he might ruin the relationship he already had with the potions professor. Harry didn't want things to deteriorate back to what they had been before the troll attack, and he was afraid that if Snape had to live with him all the time, he might resent Harry for being in the way, like the Dursleys always had. _Please, Sev. Please understand. I know you said you weren't mad, but how could you not be? I'm kind of mad at myself, because I'm so damn scared to take a chance on you. But I can't help it. I want to but . . ._

When he entered the common room, he found Percy assisting a second year with her Charms homework, Fred and George muttering over a chessboard, and Ron studying something for once. Hermione was busy taking some more donations and putting them in a box.

Harry was tired from detention and didn't want to be caught coming in by anyone, prefect or friends alike. Of course, it was just his luck that Ron would be looking up when Harry entered the portrait hole.

"Hey, Harry. How was detention with Tall, Dark, and Beaky?"

"All right. I scrubbed lots of cauldrons."

"That's Snape's standard detention. He loves making you scrub your fingers to the bone," Ron said.

"Tell me about it." Harry chuckled.

"How about Malfoy? Did he polish his nails while you scrubbed, huh?" sneered the redhead.

"No. He got in big trouble with the professor for almost killing his raven."

Everyone in the common room froze. Then all of them began to babble at once.

"Killed Snape's familiar . . .?"

"But why would he do something so stupid?"

"Poor Skull!"

"Malfoy needs to be taken down a peg."

"Wicked brat!"

"So . . .what sort of punishment did Malfoy get?" asked Ron.

Harry grinned. "The best kind. Snape's going to tell his mum."

"Ooo!" cheered some.

"Malfoy's gonna get the Howler of the century!" hooted Fred and George.

"Serves the little brat right."

"_I_ think he ought to be beaten." Sniffed a blond third year girl. "Cruelty to a familiar is a crime."

"Hear! Hear!" Percy agreed.

"Malfoy is asking to get pranked—" George began.

"—big time. Because nobody messes with our feathered brother Skull!" Fred finished.

Several people cheered at that. The twins' revenge pranks were legendary.

Harry was surprised that the Gryffindors could feel so much compassion for the Slytherin Head's familiar. But then again, the rascally raven seemed to cross House boundaries with impunity, and won the hearts of almost all he came into contact with. Harry approached Hermione, and asked how she was doing with the donations.

"Very well, I think. I haven't counted it all yet, but I have something from almost everyone," the witch reported, smiling.

"You'll have my donation by the weekend." Harry promised. "I just have to make a withdrawal from Gringotts." He hoped Snape would recall that he had promised Harry a trip to Diagon Alley. Harry didn't want to harp on the promise, because Severus usually got annoyed over that sort of thing.

"That's good, Harry. Hopefully, this will be enough for Madam Pince to make a start on either replacing the books or the shelves." Hermione said. "I heard that not all the library was damaged. That the Restricted Section was still standing, because it had the strongest charms on it and was in the opposite direction of the troll when it entered the library."

"Really? Whew! I didn't know that," Harry said. At least the most dangerous books were still safe.

He debated upon whether or not to tell his new friends about Severus' offer. In the end, he decided to keep mum about it awhile longer. He still felt uncomfortable discussing his home life and in order to mention the offer he would have to explain about how the Dursleys hated him and all. Very awkward and embarrassing. Not to mention that Harry wished to forget they ever existed while he was at school. They were part of the ordinary humdrum world and this was part of the wondrous magical world that he had always been denied and he had no wish to mingle them. Bad enough that Snape, Dumbledore, and Poppy knew.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Harry said, smothering a yawn. "G'night."

"Good night, Harry." Hermione said.

"Wait!" Ron called. "You never said if Skull was okay."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "You care? Thought you didn't like him."

Ron shrugged. "He's a pain in the arse. But then, so are my brothers and I still like them. Is he?"

"Yeah. The professor made sure Skull was all right. Then he ripped Malfoy a new one."

"Good. He needs it." No love was lost between Ron and Draco, since Draco continually twitted Ron about being poor and broke.

Harry yawned again, then headed upstairs to bed. He needed to be rested for class tomorrow and then the detention in the library tomorrow night.

_The next evening:_

Irma Pince had been the unquestioned Head Librarian of Hogwarts ever since she was twenty five years old and the old Head, Persephone Dewey, had retired. She had seen countless students come and go, and some professors as well, but her one constant was her books. Whatever upheaval was going on in the world outside the library, from World War II to Voldemort, she could always count on her library to provide her with both information and a sanctuary. To Irma, there was no more beautiful thing than a book newly printed and bound, and no more beautiful scents than parchment, ink, and leather. After being cruelly rejected as a young witch and her heart broken by a careless Gryffindor suitor, Irma had sought solace in her beloved books, and came to the realization that books were more faithful and better companions than people. She never forgave or forgot her experience with so-called young love, and chased away any other would-be suitors with her sharp tongue and stiff manner. Books were safer. They had no ego to bruise and no book ever looked at her and compared her to a stork. Books were never arrogant or fickle, they remained the same and provided her with the same level of entertainment as they had the first time she read them.

Thus, the loss of so many precious volumes was totally disheartening and depressing for her. Even the offer of several of the professors to replace some volumes from their own personal collection couldn't alleviate the feeling of loss. She felt as if her children had died. Or her home had been vandalized. In a way both those things had occurred, and she was not handling it well at all. She snapped at her colleagues or otherwise remained mute and brooding at the staff table. She was usually busy cataloguing or dusting or ordering new books from the current Library Digest. Now she found it difficult to clean up the debris, and had taken to swallowing a pain potion just to get through the rest of the day.

She started to wonder if she ought to contact her niece, Lena Rosario, her sister's daughter, who had been taking courses on how to become a librarian at a magical school. Lena was a former Ravenclaw, and also a skilled mind mistress, her father was an Oxford professor who had educated his daughter about everything and anything. But Lena knew the inner workings of the library better than most apprentices. She knew spells for preserving and mending books, protecting them with charms and hiding them from overeager children. She had a photographic memory for books and place names and she enjoyed her aunt's company.

Irma nibbled on a fingernail and contemplated calling upon her next of kin for help. Lena would come, she loved books as much as Irma did. She had learned to read at three and had never stopped. And with a knowledgeable apprentice around, she could relax a bit and delegate some of the tougher jobs to her apprentice.

Yes, maybe she'd call Lena, since she felt so drawn and tired.

She pulled out a precious piece of parchment and began to write.

By the time she had posted the letter in the mail it was nearly time for Severus to bring his wretched brats there for detention.

It was then that the boxes of books and purses of money began arriving.

Irma just stopped and stared at the parliament of owls arriving and descending to deliver the packages. For one moment she could not comprehend the deluge of mail, and then she received a letter from the Headmaster informing her that all of these packages were donations for the library from students. Every single one, and more would be arriving daily.

She put a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed. Apparently, she was not the only one who enjoyed the sanctuary of the library. Overcome, she looked at all of the donations and wept.

But only for a few moments. Then the administrator in her took over and she began to use her wand to collect and count the money, transferring it to a special lock box where it would be deposited into her account, so she could use the funds to purchase more books and other necessities. Then she carefully placed the boxes of books in a cleared section behind her desk, where she could examine them and spell tag them.

Severus arrived soon after this and asked if she had received his donation of books yet.

"I, yes, I believe so." Irma said, her eyes still wide in astonishment. "Thank you. I . . .am amazed that so many students have sent money and books, that they care about the library . . ."

"Did I not tell you, Irma, that you weren't the only one in the castle who worships the written word?" Severus asked gently. "Perhaps next time you'll believe me." He gestured to his two students. "Potter and Malfoy here are at your disposal for the evening. Tell them where you would like them to begin cleaning."

Pince quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat. Misbehaving students she could handle. "Right." She handed each of them a feather duster and broom and shovel. "Go to the far right hand corner of the library, you'll find plenty of dust and dirt to keep you occupied."

"Yes, Madam Pince," the two muttered respectfully, then they departed.

Snape watched them go, frowning. Then he spoke to his familiar. "Skull, keep an eye on them."

The raven on his shoulder ruffled his glossy black feathers and sprang aloft, cawing, "At once, my captain!" Then he circled over the books and flew off.

"Severus, is that bird housebroken?" Irma asked.

"Of course. Skull would never harm a book. Ravens know the value of knowledge," replied Snape, a bit peeved. But then he said, "Would you like some assistance cataloguing those recent acquisitions?"

"Please." The librarian said happily. She knew that Severus was efficient and familiar with the system, having once worked over the summer as a sixth year as her assistant.

The two began removing books from the boxes.

Meanwhile, Harry had reached the corner and had begun sweeping the mounds of dust and wood chips into the dustpan. He recalled that this was the place Snape had battled the troll, and suppressed a shiver. The familiar table and chair where he used to study had been smashed to pieces, some of what he was sweeping now were the remnants of that. He had taken off his robes, placing them carefully atop a bookshelf after he'd dusted it off, since you couldn't sweep well in them.

Dust swirled thickly through the air making him sneeze. A few feet away, Malfoy was coughing and rubbing his eyes. Harry gamely swiped at the dust cloud and found that most of the dust clung to the feather duster. He then tucked the duster in his jeans and continued sweeping. While he cleaned, he thought about whether or not to accept Severus' offer. He also thought about Christmas, and how, for the first time ever, he had friends to buy presents for. He wondered what Ron and Hermione would like. He even thought about buying a gift for Severus and Skull.

Suddenly he heard the brief flap of wings as Skullduggery alighted upon a shelf. The raven gave him a brief nod and settled down to observe.

Malfoy scowled at the bird but refrained from saying anything. He hated all the bloody chores he had to do, but most of all he hated the dark-haired boy working a few feet from him. Potter had humiliated him and made him get in trouble with not only his fellow Slytherins and Snape, but also his mother. He had not gotten a letter or a Howler from her, and thought that maybe Snape hadn't sent the report to her as he'd promised. But a part of him doubted it. Snape never threatened, he promised.

If Narcissa had received the letter, would she tell Lucius about it? Draco winced. Lucius ' number one rule was never get caught misbehaving in public. In private you could do anything you could get away with. But perhaps Narcissa would keep this to herself, since Lucius was away. He wished he had his wand back, there were dozens of petty annoying humiliating jinxes he could cast that would make Potter sorry.

But right then the most he could do was throw shovelfuls of dust on Potter's half of the floor, making his task that much dirtier and longer. And the oblivious Gryffindor didn't notice anything. Draco smirked slyly.

Until Skullduggery shrieked, "Sabotage!" and flew from his perch, circling above Malfoy's head.

"Get off, bird!" squeaked the blond boy, and went to cover his head, for Skull's beak was very sharp and he'd been known to nip a student's ear.

Harry turned around to see what had set the raven off and saw mounds of dust all over the floor he'd just spent the past half hour cleaning. "Malfoy, you prat!"

Before Draco could say anything else, Skullduggery cackled and cried, "Bombs away!"

SPLAT!

"Ugh!" Malfoy yelled, then began pawing frantically at his head, which now had a disgusting mess of bird poop all over it.

"Hoo! New fashion trend, aye?" the raven sniggered. "Serves you right." Then he flew in spirals above the pair.

Harry started to chuckle in spite of himself, though he normally wouldn't have laughed at another's misfortune like that. But the raven's quirky sense of justice was too funny.

"Shut up, Potter! Just shut up!" Draco howled, tearing off his robes and scrubbing frantically at his head.

"Scrub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, and what _have_ you done to your hair?" the raven mocked.

Draco shook a fist at the black bird, muttering swear words under his breath. Bloody raven! He wished it would drop dead.

Harry turned back to his part of the floor, and began cleaning again. He thought about chucking the dust back on Malfoy's side but didn't want to have a dust war and risk getting in even more trouble. Plus, he wanted to help fix the library, not make it worse. So he swept and dusted as quickly as he could, and by the time three hours had gone by, had cleared almost the whole corner of the library.

A sulky Malfoy had managed less than half of that.

Harry was dusting the bookshelf when Snape came to see what progess had been made. "Not bad," was all he said. "Give your cleaning supplies back to Madam Pince, you're done for tonight. Tomorrow is your final detention, I expect you to be at my office promptly. Mr. Potter, you are dismissed."

Harry turned and looked at his teacher. "Yes, sir. Professor Snape, may I ask—"

"Ask me tomorrow, Potter." Severus said impatiently. "Unless it's an emergency?"

"No, sir. It can wait." Harry said, he had been intending to remind Snape about the visit to Diagon Alley. But it could wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow was Thursday. "Good night, Professor." He grabbed his robes from the top of the shelf and started walking up the stacks.

"Night, Harry! Sleep tight, don't let the boggarts bite!" Skull called after him.

Harry blushed and Malfoy smothered a laugh. Until Draco looked up at his professor, who was frowning. "My office, Malfoy. Now."

"But-but sir . . .I didn't do anything . . ."

Snape did not reply, merely started walking.

Draco followed, puzzled and angry. He dropped his supplies off at Pince's desk, apprehension curdling in his stomach. Surely Snape couldn't know about the dust he'd thrown on the floor?

Severus opened the office door and gestured Draco inside.

Draco walked in . . .and saw Narcissa standing there. She did _not_ look happy at all. "Mother!" he smiled weakly.

"Draco." She did not smile back. His name fairly dripped disapproval.

"Somebody's in trouble!" Skull hissed from Snape's shoulder.

"Hush, Skullduggery!" ordered Severus.

"Professor Snape, if you will excuse us? I need to have a talk with my son." Narcissa said coolly.

Severus nodded and closed the door of the office behind him.

"Mother, I can explain . . ."began Draco.

"Can you?" her tone was like ice, and so was her face. She reminded him of a queen passing judgment upon a traitor. "What explanation can you give me, Draco Lucius Malfoy, for disrespecting your Head of House, and casting forbidden curses upon a fellow student? For nearly harming Professor Snape's familiar in a fit of petty jealousy?"

"It was Potter's fault, Mother!"

"Oh, really? _You_ were the one holding the wand, young man. The curse came out of _your_ mouth. I had thought you told me you didn't wish to be like your father, and use dark magic, Draco. Have you suddenly changed your mind? Do you wish to follow in his footsteps after all?" She had dragged Snape's chair out from behind his desk and was sitting in it.

Draco shook his head. "No!"

"Then why hex someone like that?"

"He was annoying me."

"That is no excuse. I am ashamed to see that you behave no better than an uneducated lout, breaking school rules and then being disrespectful to your professor. That is not how I taught you to behave. Professor Snape has given you plenty of chances to improve your attitude and you still behaved abominably. Just like a headstrong Gryffindor."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry, Mother."

She shook her head slowly. "I had thought you had learned to behave with restraint and decorum, as befits an heir to a great House. Your father would be furious to find out that you had disgraced the family by allowing a mere Muggle raised boy to get the better of you."

"Did you tell him?"

"No. Since Professor Snape wrote to me specifically about this matter, I chose to handle it myself."

"Oh." Draco felt his breath woosh out in relief.

Then she continued. "Do not think that means you'll be getting away with anything, young man. You say you don't wish to become a dark wizard, and yet that is where you're headed. Straight down the dark road." She did not say "like your father", but it was implied.

He paled. "No! I'm not like that! I'm not!"

"Are you sorry for what you've done?"

"Yes."

"Why? Because of me or because you know it was wrong?"

" I . . .both," he stared at the ground.

"Look me in the eye and say it."

He did and she saw, to her relief, that he did seem genuinely sorry. "I promised myself long ago that no child of mine would go dark. Your father believes otherwise. He believes the mistakes of the fathers continue to the next generation. Not me. You are not above the rules, Draco. Or the consequences. I warned you about behaving before you got on the train this year, didn't I?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes, Mother."

"Remember, you have no one to blame but yourself." She crooked a finger at him.

Severus was at his desk in the classroom, waiting for Narcissa to finish lecturing and punishing her son. She had contacted him early this morning and told him she would be coming down to deal with her son that evening. She had apologized to him and promised to impress upon Draco the error of his ways. From the sound of things inside the office, she was keeping her word, and doling out a firm smacking, something that Severus felt the spoiled eleven-year-old badly needed. Yelps and sniveling came from beyond the closed door, Severus could hear the whole thing despite the Privacy wards because he had set them.

He tried to concentrate upon the homework he had left to grade, but found it impossible. Deserved or not, it made him recall bad memories from his childhood, and after a moment he set his quill down and tried to meditate to keep the shadows at bay. Skull preened and groomed his wizard's hair, sensing the man's unease. The raven made an odd sort of sound, like a cross between a purr and a hum, which he knew soothed his wizard when Snape was agitated. For all his flippant attitude, the raven loved his bondmate and hated to see him hurt or upset.

Severus reached up and scratched behind the raven's head, murmuring, "Thank you, Skull." He had long ago quit marveling at how uncannily perceptive the raven was. Skullduggery was one of a kind.

Five minutes later, a chastened Draco emerged from the office, followed by Narcissa. "Severus, my son has something he wishes to say to you."

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape, for my horrible behavior. And for hurting your familiar. I'll try and behave from now on." His blue-gray eyes were wet with tears.

Snape withdrew a handkerchief and handed it to him. "I would certainly hope so, Draco. You're forgiven, just don't let it happen again. It's getting close to curfew. Say goodbye to your mother and get back to your dormitory."

Draco turned and hugged Narcissa, who kissed his forehead and murmured, "Be good, my little dragonling. Study hard and make me proud."

"I will, Mum." Her son promised, then he turned and headed out of the office. Only when he was out of sight did he pause to rub his stinging bottom. Narcissa was not brutal in her punishments like Lucius, but by Merlin she was thorough! He would be sleeping on his stomach tonight for sure. He headed back to the Slytherin portrait hole, vowing to never get on his mother's bad side again. He had just enough time to take a shower before going to bed.

Back in the office, Narcissa told Severus that Draco still needed to write an apology to Harry for nearly killing him. "Please make sure he does so, and if not, tell him I shall be back here again and make what I gave him tonight look like love taps." She shook her head. "Sometimes, Severus, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. Lucius is so . . .influential, Draco looks up to him even when he knows his father is wrong. I'm not sure if I can counter Lucius' presence. But I don't want my son to go dark, Severus. I don't want him to become hard and cold, to serve an evil despot. That way lies madness and death."

He patted her shoulder lightly. "I think you're doing a fine job, Cissy. Between the two of us, we'll keep him on the straight and narrow. Tonight I had him serving detention in the library, helping to repair it."

"Draco wrote me that the library had been badly damaged when a troll rampaged through it. He told me you nearly died saving Harry Potter from it."

"Died? Hardly," scoffed Snape. "I ended up with a broken arm and a mild concussion. The library, however, fared poorly. Irma lost nearly half her books and furniture."

"That's terrible!" Narcissa said. "Might I make a contribution?" She reached into her purse. "Would five hundred Galleons be sufficient?"

Severus' eyebrows rose into his hair. "I would say so. That's very generous, Cissy."

She shrugged. "It's better to spend the Malfoy money on the library than on some dark purpose."

"Just make the donation anonymous," Snape told her. "Irma's pride is so touchy these days."

"Of course." Narcissa placed a bag upon the desk and then cast a Featherlight charm on it. "Will your raven deliver this?"

"Yes. Skullduggery, take this to Madam Pince." Severus told his familiar.

"Be back in a flash," said the raven, then he hopped down and took the large bag in his claws, then soared into the air with it.

"I have to be going. Have a good evening, Severus, and don't hesitate to contact me again if Draco keeps misbehaving."

"I would hope that he has learned his lesson. Good night, Narcissa."

He watched the witch step through the Floo and vanish into the green flames. Then he locked up his office and took his papers back with him to his quarters. He would finish marking them there.

"Mission accomplished, Sev," Skullduggery announced as he flew down upon the Potion Master's shoulder.

Severus turned his head and did something he rarely did. He smiled.

Then he whispered the password to his quarters and slipped inside. Hopefully, Draco would settle down now and he could concentrate upon protecting Harry more and helping Irma catalogue her books. Between that and classes and refereeing that bloody Quidditch match, it was going to be a busy November.

**I would like to thank Mrs. Potter-Black-Riddle-Malfoy for giving me the idea of Skull bombing Malfoy. Also, etherian has sent me a lovely picture of Skull she found, to check it out, go to my profile and click on the link next to the story. **

**Next, we'll meet Pince's niece Lena and see how Harry fares in the next Quidditch match.**

**Who would like to help me come up with a good prank for the twins to play on Malfoy? Any ideas at all would be helpful. Just include them in your review. Thanks a lot!**


	6. Beggar at the Feast

**6**

**Beggar at the Feast**

**chapter dedicated to Barbara Taksey, my next door neighbor who recently passed away. **

On Thursday, after his potions class, where they learned how to brew Pepperup potion, Harry discovered a letter inside his bookbag. When he opened it, he discovered it was, from all people, Draco Malfoy. The letter was an apology for cursing him during the duel on Monday, and while it was politely worded and all, Harry got an uneasy feeling that it was not very sincere. Malfoy had avoided him all day, however, pretending not to even see him, much to Harry's relief. He wondered if Snape had made Malfoy write the letter, or perhaps Malfoy's mum had? It sort of seemed the kind of thing a mother would make a child do, what Lily might have made him do, had she lived and he had done something like that. Well, whatever the reason, Harry hoped Malfoy would leave him be from now on. He had gone through primary school being the target of Dudley and his bullying friends, he didn't want the same to happen here at Hogwarts.

That night in the Great Hall, students whispered about a new face at the staff table. When Harry turned about to see what everyone was talking about, he saw a young woman , a little younger than Snape, sitting next to Madam Pince at the staff table. She was wearing a simple yet elegant long skirt of midnight blue and a starched white blouse and over robes of royal blue with an owl holding a scroll brooch on them. She was of medium height and had honey blond hair pulled back in a neat bun and glasses perched upon her pert nose. Eyes of a brilliant aquamarine peered out curiously from them and gazed about the hall. She was not exceptionally beautiful or cute, but she had an intense gaze that drew the eye.

Harry gazed at her and gave her a tentative smile, receiving one in return which made the woman's ordinary face look adorable. To his shock, she winked at him mischievously before taking a sip out of her goblet of pineapple juice. Harry flushed and turned away, asking Hermione, "Who's that new teacher up there?"

"That's not a new teacher, Harry. That's Madam Pince's new assistant, her niece," Hermione explained. She had heard McGonagall discussing the new arrival with Professor Sprout as she was leaving the greenhouse that afternoon.

"Yeah, her name's Lena Rosario, and she used to be a Ravenclaw," Percy added, eyeing the petite woman with a sigh of envy. "She's going to help Pince restore the library, or so I've heard."

There was a lot of murmuring appreciatively among the older Gryffindor boys, who hadn't seen a woman younger than fifty or older than eighteen come to Hogwarts in a long time.

"She looks sweet, eh, Percy?" teased George, elbowing Fred in the ribs and snickering.

Percy flushed. "Shut up, you git!"

"Ooo, got a bit of a crush, elder brother?" Fred sniggered.

"Of course not!" said Percy indignantly. "She's in her thirties! Twice my age!" But his ears were very red.

"Yeah, but you know what they say about older women," Oliver Wood smirked.

Percy glared at him and began eating his meatloaf and mashed potatoes at top speed.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Harry, are you all ready for the Quidditch match on Friday?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I think so. We're playing Ravenclaw, so it should be pretty good."

"Just watch them, Harry. They're clever and sneaky." Ron warned. "I've heard that Snape's referee for that game too."

"He is?" Harry's eyebrows went up.

"Yeah, so he'll probably try and make them look good."

"Ron, are you saying that Professor Snape would cheat?" Hermione objected.

Ron shrugged. "You always favor your own House, Hermione."

"But a referee is supposed to be impartial. I don't think Professor Snape would be allowed to be in that position if he were unfair."

"Hermione, what planet are you from?" Ron snorted. "Half the refs in professional Quidditch are crooked. I'll bet you two Knuts that Snape's no different."

Harry frowned. "I don't agree. If Snape says he'll referee impartially then he will." He knew better than anyone how Snape valued his promises.

Ron shrugged. "We'll see, won't we?" Then he turned back to eating his roast chicken.

Up at the staff table, Skullduggery was eying Lena from Severus' shoulder. The potions professor was seated on Lena's right, to her left was her aunt, who rarely ate dinner with the rest of the staff, she much preferred to hide away in her quarters rather than be forced to endure the clamor in the hall. But this once Irma made an exception, because Dumbledore had insisted she attend the welcome feast for Lena. She had made the introductions for the staff, and they had all welcomed the young librarian to Hogwarts. Irma figured they might as well start off on the right foot, since Lena was probably going to be here for the rest of the year, even if the library was restored by next term. Irma was subtly grooming the younger woman as her eventual replacement, though no one knew this save Albus. Not even Lena knew.

Lena Rosario was an unusually self-possessed young woman. She was used to being in the company of academics, having grown up with a father who was an Oxford don, and as a teenager had attended many a literature meeting with him, since her passion, like his, was the written word. Lena's mother, Morgana, was more interested in studying dusty old magic tomes than reading literature, and Lena was more than happy to attend the lectures and discussions with her father, Anthony. Anthony was always glad to have her there, she was more like him than her brother, Max, who used every excuse in the book to skive off and play sports, he detested reading and thought it was a dreadful bore. He was a top notch Chaser, had played for a time with the Chudley Cannons before semi-retiring to become a coach.

Lena had always suspected that her father had been relieved when his youngest displayed every sign of being a bookworm, because his son and he had almost nothing in common. Max was boisterous and opinionated, much like his Uncle Leo, his father's brother. Anthony was quiet and introspective and preferred a good book to any kind of sporting match. Anthony had once lamented that Max had trouble keeping still for any length of time as a boy, unless it was to watch Quidditch. Lena, however, even as a toddler, would remain transfixed upon his knee while he read aloud to her, and could never fall asleep unless she was read to before bedtime. It was almost a foregone conclusion that she would end up in Ravenclaw at her Sorting.

"Like mother, like daughter," was what her dad had said when she'd written home and told him what House she was in. "It's practically tradition in the Pince family, for the women to end up in Ravenclaw." He had always jokingly referred to Irma as the Queen of the Library, Guardian of the Stacks, and his wife was the Queen of the Fairies, Gloriana, which was both a play on her name and a reference to one of his favorite books, _The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser_.

Thinking of her parents made the young woman feel suddenly homesick for the crazy old Elizabethan-style manor house she had lived in her whole life, with all the additions and stairs that wound every which way, leading to balconies overlooking the gardens or garrets full of dusty old magical relics and books stashed in dustproof boxes. It was an architect's nightmare but a child's dream, a place of mystery where you could explore to your heart's content and still discover something new and exciting every day. Lena adored the ramshackle old house and always had.

Though she had been quite eager to help her aunt restore the library, she hadn't been back to Hogwarts in over ten years, and had forgotten how loud and noisy it could be, and she found the pressure of so many individual minds nudging at her shields quite disconcerting. Unknown to any save family, Lena had inherited the Pince affinity for mind magic, and was in fact, a very strong witch in the mind arts. She had devoted many years to learning both Occlumency and Legilimency as well as studying obscure branches of old magic with Morgana. Due to the many people in the hall, she had to concentrate more than normal to block them out, and as a result developed a headache. This in turn caused her to become very quiet.

Until Skulduggery fluttered down and landed in front of her plate, cocked his head, and said suavely, "Greetings, pretty lady. Read any good books lately?"

Lena giggled, delighted with the raven's wit.

Severus was aghast. There were times when his familiar displayed a very annoying tendency to ask impertinent questions, and try as he might, Severus had never been able to break him of the habit. "Skulduggery! Don't be such an impertinent wretch!" he scolded. Then he coughed and turned to the witch, saying apologetically, "Forgive me, Miss Rosario, my familiar can be very obnoxious—"

To his astonishment, Lena shook her head. "Oh no, Professor Snape, I find him quite charming. And very clever." Skullduggery preened proudly. Then she said a long liquid phrase in Welsh to the raven.

Snape blinked. "You speak Welsh?"

"No, just a few phrases here and there," Lena admitted, blushing slightly.

Skull turned to his wizard and said, "She called me Keeper of Knowledge, Severus. And that she was honored to meet me."

"_He_ understands Welsh?" McGonagall asked. "I never knew that!"

"One never knows what Skullduggery picks up while staying at the Tower," Severus said dryly, impressed in spite of himself. "Some of it is good and some of it . . .well, let us say shouldn't be repeated in polite company."

Lena smiled shyly at the tall professor, whom she thought was rather handsome, despite his rather large nose and stern demeanor. He might have intimidated another woman, but Lena's instincts were telling her that he wasn't quite as fierce and cold as he seemed. A light probe told her he was a natural Occlumens, quite strong, which pleased her immensely, since then she wouldn't need to be on her guard so much around him. Ordinary wizards often proved to be unable to block her mental senses and she ended up reading their surface thoughts unintentionally if she happened to let down her shields even slightly. It was one reason she had remained single past the age of twenty-five, since it was decidedly unromantic to be picking up her date's less than flattering thoughts about her, such as _she's not much to look at, but maybe she's good in the sack, _or _no wonder she's not found a husband yet, who'd want to marry a witch who knows more about books than anything else, and makes a man feel like a dolt?_ How much more awkward would it have been if her potential suitors, most of them suggested by her mother, knew she was also a disciple of the old ways and could hear surface thoughts? She knew quite well that most wizards would run off and count themselves lucky to have gotten away from the unnerving bookish half-blood. It was why she liked to spend so much time alone in the library, because the books didn't care what a misfit she was.

She wondered if Aunt Irma knew that the Potions Master was a strong Occlumens and that was why she had chosen him to be Lena's seatmate? Whatever the reason, she was glad Severus was next to her, he seemed like a fascinating and intelligent fellow. "I am rather hard to shock, Professor. You'd be surprised what topics come up for discussion at an Oxford staff luncheon, some of the professors there aren't as conservative as you might think." Then she blushed. _I can't believe I just said that!_ "I mean . . .so you needn't be embarrassed if your familiar happens to mention some . . .err . . .awkward subjects. As I said before, I really like ravens."

Skull looked enormously pleased. "See, Severus? She likes me. She has good taste, you should invite her for tea and scones."

"Skullduggery!" hissed a mortified Severus.

Minerva laughed delightedly. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Severus! I am sure you and Lena have much in common. Did you know, Lena, that Severus is also a bibliophile? He practically lives in the library."

Severus longed to tell Minerva to mind her own business, but he didn't want to appear surly and unpleasant in front of the apprentice librarian. "That is true. Or at least it was before the troll destroyed half of it."

"Aunt Irma told me you dueled the troll and saved a student's life."

Severus nodded, clearly uncomfortable. "I . . .yes. I did what any adult would have done in a similar situation."

Lena arched an eyebrow. "Really? Most wizards I know would have Flooed the Aurors or Magical Creature Squad, not battled a troll to the death. You must be highly skilled at combat magic."

"I know how to defend myself," Snape said modestly.

"He's brilliant at Defense," piped up Skulduggery. "Almost as good as he is at potions."

Severus longed to strangle his familiar right then. He never liked to brag about his skills in either area, even if it were true. He didn't want to seem like a pompous ass. "He's exaggerating," he said to Lena, and then he shot a glare at the raven. "Trolls are strong but stupid, and once I brought down its magic resistance with a Weakening Hex, it was not that hard to defeat."

"Our Potions Master is too modest, my dear Lena," Albus chuckled. "He acted very heroically in defending Mr. Potter, and we are all very grateful he was around to do so."

Severus glanced away, wishing he could Obliviate his well-meaning but infuriating colleagues.

Sensing his embarrassment, Lena sought to turn the topic to something else the professor might be willing to discuss. "Where did you get your raven, Professor Snape?"

For some reason he found her formality a tad irritating, especially because she was only two years his junior. "You may call me Severus, Miss Rosario."

"If you will call me Lena . . .Severus."

"As you wish, Lena." He agreed, feeling on much more even footing than before. "Skulduggery, or Skull for short, actually adopted me. He was born in the Tower of London, one of the greater ravens that live there. I was on my way back from Diagon Alley one day from purchasing some potions ingredients when I paused to look up at the Tower. For some reason I decided to visit and while I was there, he flew down on my shoulder and refused to leave. The Ravenmaster, who happens to be one of us, told me that I had been chosen by Skulduggery , that he was now my familiar. He has been with me for . . ." he paused and did some quick arithmetic in his head. " . . .eight years now."

"He seems like a wonderful familiar."

"That's me, Mr. Wonderful!" Skull crowed.

Everyone chuckled. Snape rolled his eyes. "Merlin, help you, bird. If you get any more full of hot air, you're libel to explode like the Hindenburg."

Lena started laughing at the reference, unlike most wizards at the table, she understood it. Skull did also and fluffed his feathers up in a huff, acting insulted. "You calling me a blimp, Snape?"

"I'm calling you a puffed up windbag, and if you don't watch it you're going to end up in a cauldron one night."

"Only if you're desperate for money and need to make the Ultra Special Potion of Skull Everlasting. It'll make you immortal, because even death hides from Skullduggery." The raven croaked.

"You see what I have to put up with?"

"I like him. I think he's sweet," Lena said, and reached out to scratch the raven's head.

"Keep this one, Sev. She knows where it's at."

"Someday I need to acquire a familiar," Lena said to both her aunt and Severus. "A library needs a cat or a bird to make it feel like home. I feel incomplete without one."

"I can send you Skull if you'd like," Severus offered, scowling. "Before he ends up plucked and stuffed."

The raven promptly stuck his tongue out at the Potions Master.

Before Snape could scold him further or threaten to turn him into potion ingredients, the impudent bird flew over to McGonagall and sang sweetly in her ear, "What's new pussycat? Woah, woah, woah."

Minerva went red, and half the staff burst out laughing.

The wickedly witty raven continued singing, sounding just like Tom Jones. He knew the whole song, having heard it coming from a radio while he spent time at the Tower of London. Skull knew quite well that McGonagall's Animagus form was a cat and was having a grand old time warbling the old tune.

"Skull, now really!" she sputtered. "Severus, do control your bird, for the love of Merlin!"

Snape's eyes sparkled with amusement. "How do you suggest I do that, Minerva? Hex his beak shut?" He would never admit it, but he had often longed to play that song for the Gryffindor Head, because it was quite funny and he enjoyed making the conservative witch squirm, especially after she had embarrassed him tonight with her pseudo-matchmaking. _Tit for tat, kitty cat,_ he thought with a smirk.

Half the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were in stitches, even though they didn't recognize the song in the slightest, they loved how Skull could mock their teachers with impunity.

"Drat you, bird!" McGonagall waved a napkin at the raven, who ducked and flapped away to land upon the Gryffindor table, where several students applauded him. He bowed, wings spread, and then helped himself to some roast chicken off of Harry's plate.

Harry sniggered and said, "Better be careful, Skull. McGonagall might hunt you down and make a pie out of you."

"Nah. I taste terrible," the raven trilled.

Fred and George cheered, then whispered that their feathered brother was going to just _love_ the prank they had played upon Malfoy.

Harry looked up, alarmed. "What did you do?"

George smirked at him. "You'll see. Keep watching the Slytherin table. It should begin in about . . .oh, two minutes."

"Countdown!" Skullduggery screeched. "One . . .two . . .three . . .four . . ."

Harry looked at Ron. "Do you know what they did?"

"Not a clue, mate. But this ought to be good!" He was looking forward to seeing the prat Malfoy get taken down a peg or two.

So was everyone else at the table, or so it seemed. Even Hermione took her nose out of her textbook to glance over at the Slytherin table.

Skull finished counting down the minutes, and as soon as the raven had trilled "One hundred and twenty!" it happened.

Draco was rapidly eating his roast beef and potatoes, ignoring what was going on around him for once. Thus, he didn't notice that his hair had suddenly morphed into large spiky black feathers and his clothes were changed into beggar's rags colored crimson and gold.

Several Slytherins looked at him goggle-eyed, especially Crabbe and Goyle, because his whole House knew how particular Malfoy was about his appearance. He was quite vain and all of his clothes were of the highest quality and he hated looking unkempt.

The Gryffindors were laughing and pointing, but that was not the worst of the prank.

Draco opened his mouth to ask why everyone at the table was staring at him like he'd grown an extra head when a sharp cawing sound came out of his mouth . . .like the call of a raven. Malfoy clamped a hand over his mouth, horrified. _What's happened to me? I can't talk . . .I sound like a bloody bird! Like a . . .raven!_ He turned and looked over at the Gryffindor table, they were roaring at him and jeering. He felt himself flush with anger and embarrassment. He knew one of them had pranked him. Two, most likely. This had the feel of a Weasley twin joke.

Then he looked down and saw, to his horror, that he was wearing . . .a torn ragged shirt and ripped jeans, sneakers with holes and the soles coming apart. In short, he looked like a reject from a trash bin, and the shirt was Gryffindor colors. He waved his wand and tried to change his clothes back, but he kept croaking like a raven and so the spell failed because he couldn't pronounce it properly.

"Crabbe! Goyle! Rrrawk! Don't just stand—awwk—there! Help me! Rrawk-arck!"

"How? We dunno what they did, Draco," said Goyle.

Draco turned to his Housemates, most of whom were laughing behind their hands. "Hey! Somebody take this—caw, caw—curse off me!"

"Why?" Flint asked coldly from down the table. "We all know what you almost did to the professor's raven. "

Draco opened his mouth to protest, only to find several more pairs of disapproving eyes glaring down at him. Unable to face the censure of his Housemates as well as the amusement of the rest of the student body, Malfoy turned and fled from the hall, vowing revenge on Potter, who not only couldn't keep his fat mouth shut, but who also had sicced his pet Weasleys on him. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make that four-eyed freak pay. Because nobody made a fool out of a Malfoy and got away with it.

Up at the staff table, the talk had turned from familiars to the more practical issue of how to restore the library. Irma nearly waxed poetic over the donations she had already received from students and parents. "I'm delighted to see how the children care about the library. I never expected anything like this!"

"It's really great," Lena agreed. "I've thought of a way to raise even more donations. The students are limited in what they can send, but how about the former Hogwarts alumni? Why not contact them and ask if they wish to contribute? I know several former classmates who would be willing to donate books and Galleons for a good cause."

"Why, that's brilliant, Lena!" Madam Pince praised.

"I could send out letters," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

Severus nodded, for it was a very good idea. _She's not only intelligent, but innovative._ He was about to suggest that Albus send a letter to the Academy of Potioneers and ask them to donate some of their Advanced Potion Making books when a commotion down the hall caught his attention. _What now? Must there be a disturbance almost every meal?_

Minerva was also peering down the hall, frowning. "Severus, it would seem some of my lions have pranked one of your snakes. Do you wish to deal with this, or shall I?"

Severus felt a muscle twitch in his temple upon seeing that the butt of the joke was Malfoy, who appeared to have sprouted feathers like a raven and was wearing rags. Clearly, someone fond of Skull had done this. He waved at Minerva. "It's your turn, Minerva. Deal with it as you see fit."

McGonagall rose and stalked down the aisle to her House table just as Malfoy exited the hall.

"Mr. Malfoy! Wait!" she called, but he was already gone. Face grim, she turned to look at her House members, all of whom were sniggering like a pack of inbred hyenas. "Enough! Which one of you did that?"

The Gryffindors stilled and Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked away.

But no one answered her. She pursed her lips. "I have a good idea who started it, Frederick and George." She gave them a severe glower. "Everyone, wands on the table!"

Reluctantly, they all placed their wands on the table, and Minerva cast _Priori Incantatum_ upon them. Both twins wands showed evidence of the prank and she said severely, "I expected better of you two! What reason did you have for playing such a cruel joke on Malfoy?"

"Professor, it'll wear off in a few hours," began George. He didn't tell her about stage three. "Malfoy deserved it after what he did to Harry."

"And he almost killed Skull," added Fred. "Malfoy threw a brush at him and knocked him off his cauldron in detention."

There were murmurs of agreement from the other Gryffindors.

"He's a nasty little snot, hurting a raven that way!"

"That is not for you to judge," Minerva cut in. "I am sure Professor Snape is quite capable of punishing Malfoy on his own, without interference from anyone else. Revenge only breeds resentment and trouble and is not honorable. Misters Weasley, you shall have detention with me this weekend and twenty points from Gryffindor."

Groans followed this statement.

"You're lucky I don't forbid you from playing Quidditch!" she scolded. The twins apologized. "Now where did Mr. Malfoy go off to?" she muttered half to herself.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish!" Skull cawed.

Minerva spun on him. "Quiet, you impudent rascal! Before I decide that raven is a good appetizer."

Skullduggery squawked, pretending shock. Then he fluttered to her shoulder and crooned, "Pussycat, pussycat I love you!"

The students cracked up.

"Be off with you!" McGonagall ordered, blushing. "You love my shortbread, you wicked thing!"

Skullduggery gave a chuckle, and nibbled at her scarf before taking wing and returning to Severus with a smug look in his eye.

McGonagall left to search for Malfoy, but after twenty minutes returned to the hall, unable to find where he had gone, since he was not in any of the usual places, like the boys bathroom or the Slytherin common room. Since the hexes the twins had cast were not harmful and really would wear off after eight hours, she did not bother turning the castle upside down. Malfoy had most likely crawled into a corner to nurse his wounded dignity and would return to his common room by curfew.

"Too bad that you got caught," Ron said to his brothers. "That prank was brilliant."

"Yeah, it was," agreed Wood. "But you know McGonagall."

"Strict old cat!" muttered someone else.

"But that's not all of it," Fred declared.

"You mean there's more?" asked their little brother.

Both twins nodded. "That was parts one and two."

"Part three will start tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"The Quill of Doom," George smirked.

Percy frowned. "Can you stop it?"

Fred shook his head. "No. It's too late. Quill's already magicked."

"Well, don't come crying to me if she pulls you off the team."

"She wouldn't!" the twins said simultaneously. "Besides, she can't prove we did it. We swapped Malfoy's quill just before dinner."

"Won't he notice?" asked Hermione.

"No, because—"

"—we charmed it to look like his old one. But it's really one—"

"—of old Skull's feathers!"

"What's it going to do?" asked Neville, quivering slightly. "Explode ink all over?"

"You'll see," was all they answered.

The last detention Harry and Malfoy served was also in the library. That night Snape set them to dusting the shelves and sweeping the floor while he, Madam Pince, and Lena tagged and catalogued donations. Malfoy was surly and kept shooting glares at Harry, but he didn't do anything to sabotage the other's efforts. The spell of beggar's rags and raven hair would have worn off by the end of the night, though during the detention Skullduggery kept flying about Draco's head, cooing, "My, what lovely feathers you have!"

Draco gritted his teeth and ignored the raven, and Skull soon grew bored and flew off to tease Mrs. Norris.

Then Snape came over to inspect their work so far and cancelled the rest of the charm upon Malfoy. Lena approached them as well and introduced herself. They shook hands with her politely and she asked if they would be coming to the library more often to assist them. "I know this is a detention for you now, but you both seem like good workers and we could use all the help we can get. "

"I would be glad to help," Harry said quietly.

"Me too," said Malfoy, making Harry do a doubletake. _That_ was such a shock.

"Wonderful! I look forward to seeing you back again," the young librarian said, then she left them to finish up their task.

Harry liked Lena, she was much more approachable than Madam Pince and a whole lot friendlier. He was suspicious of Malfoy's sudden change in attitude, unsure if the blond was really trying to change or just making believe he was. It was a relief when the detention ended and Snape dismissed them after saying that he hoped they had learned their lesson about dueling. Harry checked his watch, discovering it was only eight thirty, which meant he still had time to finish up some homework and then read a bit more in the potions text Snape had allowed him to borrow. It was called _Potions for Adventurous Beginners_ and contained several drafts his standard book did not. He was anxious to also get a decent night's sleep before tomorrow's Quidditch game. Luckily he only had Herbology and Transfiguration tomorrow.

He tucked his watch away in his robe pocket, bid good night to the teachers and hurried off. He didn't notice Malfoy eying him shrewdly before heading in the opposite direction.

_The next morning:_

Harry yawned his way through breakfast, for despite his resolve to get a good night's sleep, he had gotten sucked into the potions book and had read until his eyes shut and the book fell over his face, finally passing out at close to two in the morning. As a result he was muzzy headed and barely picked at his food. He did remember to drink his Nutrient Suppliment, which didn't taste as awful as it looked.

"What _is_ that nasty looking stuff?" asked Ron, frowning at the greenish sludge clinging to beaker after Harry set it down.

"Nutrient Suppliment. I have to drink it, Pomfrey says I'm deficient in vitamins and minerals."

"Ugh! Does it taste as gross as it looks?"

"No, not really. It's not too bad." Harry said, pushing his eggs and ham about on his plate, but not really eating any of it.

He should have known better than to try and pull the wool over Snape's eyes though. His unofficial guardian disliked when he skipped meals and soon Skullduggery was landing on his shoulder and hissing into Harry's ear in Snape's silky tones, "You had better quit playing with that food, boy, and eat it or else I shall come and stand over you and watch every bite you put in your mouth and take points for dawdling over breakfast."

"All right. I'm eating," Harry muttered, and he swallowed a forkful of eggs and ham. He couldn't understand why Snape was so stuck on him eating more. So what if he was a bit small? It made it easier to be Seeker that way. He forced himself to eat half the portion he had taken. Severus had been trying to get him to eat small meals several times a day, hoping to increase Harry's appetite gradually.

Skull nibbled at his hair affectionately. It was then that Harry recalled he had never reminded Severus about going to Gringotts this weekend. "Skull," he whispered. "Can you take a message to Professor Snape for me?"

The raven bobbed his head. "Certainly. Tell me."

"Uh . . .I want to remind him about going to Gringotts this weekend. He said he'd take me so I could give a donation to the library. That's all."

Skull made a sort of tapping noise and then flew off, heading straight for the professor. Harry turned and saw the raven delivering the message to the Potions Master, who nodded in understanding. What a marvelous bird Skull was! He loved Hedwig, but it was infinitely easier to just speak a message to the raven and then send him off with it, rather than having to write with quill and parchment.

Harry finished his pumpkin juice just as Skullduggery came back and told Harry that Snape wished to see him before the Quidditch match in his office. "All right, I'll be there."

"What was that all about?" asked Ron.

"Potions question," Harry replied noncommittally. Since he hadn't accepted Snape's guardianship as yet, he didn't want to act like he had any sort of special relationship with the professor.

"You and your potions, Harry. You're as bad as Hermione." Ron rolled his eyes, then pushed back his plate and rose to his feet. "I wonder what we'll have to Transfigure today? Porcupines into pillows? Mice into baby shoes?"

"I think we're Transfiguring crickets into matchboxes," Hermione said brightly.

"How would you know?" asked Ron.

"I read ahead to chapter five," she replied.

It turned out that Hermione was right, they were Transfiguring crickets into matchboxes.

Harry tried four times before he succeeded in making his matchbox look like a matchbox, not a box with four cricket legs or wings or eyes. He had to admit that Transfiguration wasn't his best subject, unlike potions. However, he wasn't the only one struggling with today's spell. Neville couldn't get much further than a cardboard looking cricket, and Dean and Seamus both couldn't lose their cricket's back legs.

Only Draco succeeded in Transfiguring his cricket on the first try, earning twenty-five points for Slytherin. But the celebratory mood didn't last too long, because after correcting the rest of the students, Minerva went and began to look over the homework they had just handed in while the class copied notes and the new homework off the board.

For awhile, all was silent save for the scratch of quills on parchment. Harry glanced surreptitiously over at Malfoy, wondering if the quill in the other's hand was the one the twins had jinxed. But he couldn't see anything different about it, it looked like an ordinary goose feather.

Then the silence was broken by Professor McGonagall exclaiming, "Mr. Malfoy, what do you mean by this . . .this _rubbish_? You call this homework, young man?"

Malfoy looked up at her, she looked spitting mad as wet cat. He wore a puzzled look on his face. "What? I don't understand . . .what are you talking about, Professor?"

"What am I talking about?" she said in a dangerously quiet tone. "I am talking about your homework answers, Mr. Malfoy. _Question one, describe the three states of matter—_you answered _I'm not sure but when you're a tabby you tend to cross your eyes and eat dead fish and we all know that combination leads to gas that can make you pass out._"

Several students snickered and Minerva continued, glaring at Malfoy. "Shall I go on? _Question two—What happens when you transform a solid into liquid? You wrote—Don't you know the answer, you old puss? You should because you've been around the block a few times, or so I've heard."_

Gasps came from some of the Gryffindor girls, who then shot Malfoy dirty looks.

"Professor, I-I never wrote that!" Malfoy bleated. But then he hid a smirk, unable to help himself.

"Then this isn't your handwriting?" Minerva demanded, furious. She marched over to Draco and shoved the parchment under his nose. "Well?"

Draco looked down and gulped. "Uh . . .yes, ma'am, it is, but . . .I didn't write this! I was just doing my homework!"

"Oh, really? You know, Mr. Malfoy, lying will only get you in worse trouble."

"I'm not! I wrote the answers with this quill here, and that's all!"

McGonagall snorted. "I'm sure you think this is very amusing, Malfoy. To claim you did your homework and dare to hand this in—I have never been so insulted in my life! Twenty points from Slytherin and it'll be more unless you admit your guilt."

"I can't!" Malfoy cried. "The quill . . .the quill is cursed!" He shook it and shoved it at McGonagall.

The irate witch took the quill and muttered a detection charm on it, but nothing happened. "I highly doubt that, Mr. Malfoy. The quill seems fine. It's your sense of humor I have a problem with." She tapped a line where it said, _When you lick yourself does it make you tingly inside? _"I will not tolerate this sort of lewdness! You shall serve detention with me this weekend. And re-do all your homework as well."

She stalked back to her desk in a huff, had she been a cat her fur would have been abristle and her tail lashing angrily. The murmuring and snickering died down when she spun around and snapped, "The next person who so much as chuckles will be in detention with me for a week for disrespect. Even if you are in my House."

Everyone went silent, save for Ron who whispered at Harry, "So that's what they did, made his quill write nothing but insults. Merlin, but that's bloody brilliant!"

Harry had to agree. He nearly felt sorry for the other boy, though. Until he recalled how insufferable Malfoy usually was, and then he didn't feel quite so bad. Malfoy was always insulting Ron and Hermione, and he gloated whenever Gryffindor lost points. And whenever he started trouble, he made sure that someone else took the blame for it.

"But Professor . . ." Malfoy was whining. "I swear the quill was jinxed! Look, I'll show you."

He grabbed a sheet of parchment out of his notebook and wrote _My name is Draco Malfoy_. Then he showed it to her. "Look at that, Ma'am."

McGonagall frowned. "Very funny, Mr. Malfoy."

"You saw something else?"

"No, I see you've written, _My name is Draco Malfoy._ That quill has no more magic than the goose it was taken from."

Harry exchanged glances with Ron. Neither of them could figure out how the twins had pulled this one off. Unless . . .they had managed to swap out the quills again? But Harry couldn't imagine how they had done it. They weren't in the same House and didn't have access to the Slytherin common room.

"Detention, Mr. Malfoy, tomorrow night. And another ten points from Slytherin for trying to make a fool out of me. Class dismissed!"

They all filed out, the Gryffindors smirking and giggling. Harry started walking towards the stairs, feeling Malfoy's death glare stab him between the shoulderblades. But when he looked back, Malfoy was muttering to Crabbe and Goyle about writing to his father and telling him his son was being treated unfairly.

Ron overheard and brayed, "That's it, Malfoy, go crying home to daddy and tell him how miserable you are."

"Up yours, Weasley!" spat Draco. He hated Ron almost as much as he did Harry right then. _Just wait, Potter. Just wait. We'll see who laughs last and goes home crying. _

**Sorry for posting this late, I had intended to get this done sooner, like two days ago, but my work is making me too exhausted to do much except sleep when i come home. Retail during the holidays really sucks! **

**Hope you all are liking the direction this is going in. I decided to put the Quidditch match in the next chapter, as well as Snape's talk with Harry.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who submitted ideas, they were all great, but I decided to only pick two for right now. I may use the others later.**

**What did you think of Lena?**

**The twins prank?**

**What do you think Malfoy will do to Harry for revenge?**

**What's New Pussycat is a song by Tom Jones, all rights reserved, no copyright infringement intended.**

**I have a request to make of anyone who favorites this story or any of my others, if it's not too much trouble, please leave me a review! Even if it's a small one. Thanks! Your reviews encourage me to keep writing in a similar style. **

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	7. Unexpected Interference

**7**

**Unexpected Interference**

The afternoon of the Quidditch match was bright and clear, classes had been cancelled for Friday afternoon, and all Harry had to worry about was lunch and Herbology. But he discovered he was so nervous he couldn't eat much, and barely choked down a ham sandwich, crisps, and a banana. He cast an uneasy glance up at the staff table, expecting to see Snape glowering down at him, but the black-robed professor was absent. So Harry relaxed a little and nibbled his sandwich and drank his Nutrient Suppliment.

This was only his second Quidditch match, and given what had happened in the last one, Harry was understandably nervous. Inbetween bites of his lunch, Ron suggested Quidditch tips to Harry, along with the twins, recounting former pro Quidditch Seekers moves and signature catches. On his other side, Hermione quizzed him on his Herbology notes, and in a matter of minutes Harry felt his head start to spin. "Wait . . .what was that last question?" he asked Hermione. "Half a minute, Ron!"

Hermione repeated the question and Harry answered it correctly now that he was concentrating.

"Harry, who cares about Herbology?" Ron groused. "You need to keep your mind on the game. The Ravenclaw Seeker is really good this year."

Harry sighed and turned to the redhead. "I hear you, Ron. But I need to get good marks in Herbology too. It's my next class. After that I can concentrate upon the game." He told the other boy.

Hermione asked him the last question upon the homework sheet and Harry answered it correctly.

Fred reached over and gave Harry a friendly cuff on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Harry. More than likely you'll be okay this match. If it wasn't Snape who hexed your broom last time—"

"It wasn't," Harry asserted firmly. If there was one thing he did know, it was that.

"Then whoever it was is going to have a hard time pulling anything with Snape as ref," Fred finished. "The man has eyes in the back of his head and on all sides too. George and I almost never—"

"—get away with anything in his class." His twin added.

Harry just hoped they were right. He never wanted to go through a ride like the last one. Even now, just recalling it made his stomach clench and roil. He never let on that riding a broom now made him scared and uneasy, every time he soared into the air he felt a trifle dizzy, as if he might fall. He had told no one, however, not wanting to seem like a coward, and also not wanting to let down his team. But in the last practice run, he had come close to losing his breakfast after making a single looping pass across the pitch. He prayed he could keep himself under wraps until the end of the game.

Then he recalled that Snape wanted to see him in his office before the match, and wondered what the teacher might want to speak to him about before the game. He forced himself to swallow another bite of sandwich. _Guess I'll know when I go there. Maybe he wants to talk to me about the trip to Gringotts. I hope it's not to cancel it, because I'm really looking forward to going there._

HPSSHPSSHP

Harry dressed quickly in his Quidditch uniform, carefully stowing his regular robes and clothes in his small locker, which had his name written on it in gold script. He removed his watch from his pocket, he never flew with it, he was too afraid of losing it if he made a quick turn or something. He carefully opened it and stared at the picture of Lily, which smiled and waved at him. "Wish me luck, Mum." He smiled back at the photo, then gently shut the watch and put it inside the locker. He shut the door and the lock magically locked itself. Harry opened it with the special key he had tied about his neck.

Then he picked up his broom, which was one of the school brooms, and tucked it under his arm. He headed quickly down the stairs to the dungeons, wishing he knew a secret passage that would get him to Snape's office faster. He knocked upon the professor's door.

"Enter."

Harry pushed open the door and shut it behind him before coming to stand before Snape's desk, which was piled with parchments and folders. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Severus set down the essay he was attempting to read and focused upon the boy he had pledged to keep safe at all costs, the boy he was coming to see almost like a son. "Good afternoon, Harry. I see you're all prepared for the match."

"Yes, sir." Harry answered, leaning his broom against his shoulder.

Severus eyed the broom sharply. "May I examine your broom?"

"Uh . . .yes, but Professor McGonagall already did that. She said there weren't any hexes upon it." Harry handed his broom over to Snape, who muttered several detection spells and waved his wand over it.

Severus scowled down at the inanimate object. The broom was clean of Dark influences. And yet . . .he didn't trust Harry's safety upon it. Which was why he had sent to _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ last night and paid extra to have them ship his purchase to him by Express Owl Post. It had arrived this morning, and he had spent the better part of breakfast casting Anti-Jinx wards upon it. He was taking no chances this time.

"Something wrong, sir?" Harry asked uneasily, digging his sneaker into the floor. Why was the professor glaring that way at his broom, as if he wanted to break it over his knee and toss it in the fire?

Snape looked up into the worried green eyes. "This broom is not adequate enough for you to continue playing Quidditch on it." Severus set the broom behind him and retrieved a long brown package that he had stashed beneath his desk. "Therefore, as your guardian, I have provided you with a better one."

He handed the package to Harry.

"For me, sir?" The green eyes were bright with astonishment and delight.

"Do you see another eleven-year-old standing here?"

Harry smiled and tore open the package to reveal a brand new sleek racing broom. On the handle were the words _Nimbus 2000_ on one side and on the other was _Potter_ engraved in gold script. Harry was so overwhelmed at the magnificent gift that he couldn't speak. He just remained staring down at the broom in his hand. "Professor . . . I . . .can't accept this . . . it's too much . . ." he began.

From what little he'd read about Quidditch and recalled from looking at Ron's Quidditch magazines, a broom like this cost a fortune. He made as if to return the broom, though he longed to keep it with everything in him.

Severus' hands closed firmly about his own. "You can and you will. Consider it a . . .belated birthday present, Mr. Potter. I will not have you risking your neck again on an inferior broom. If you insist upon participating in this bloody sport, you ought to have proper equipment."

Harry lifted his eyes and gave Snape a tentative smile. "Thank you, sir. What can this broom do?"

"I have woven several safety wards and charms into it. It will keep you safe. It is also very fast, however, so treat it with respect. This is the top broom used by the International Quidditch Association. Fly well, Harry."

Harry now allowed himself to smile outright. "I will. Are we still going to Gringotts tomorrow?"

"I said we would, didn't I? You ought to know by now I always do what I say. Be ready for ten o'clock tomorrow. You may eat breakfast in the hall and then we shall leave. One other thing. If anyone asks about the Nimbus, tell them only that it was a present from an old family friend, understand?"

"Okay. But why?"

"I will explain everything later. For now, do as I say."

Harry agreed, running his hands lovingly over the soft wood grain finish. "I'll see you on the pitch, professor."

"Yes. Go, before you're late," Snape waved him off.

"Thanks so much! It's the best present ever!"

He hurried out of the office, still overwhelmed with his unexpected gift.

As he was walking down the hall, a raven flew overhead, croaking, "Good luck, Harry!"

"Thanks, Skull!" Harry waved at the familiar before disappearing round a bend.

Now, if only he could get his stomach under control he'd be fine.

HPSSHPSSHP

Oliver Wood's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the Nimbus Harry was carrying as he joined his team. "Merlin's ever-loving balls, Potter! Where did you get a Nimbus 2000?"

"A Nimbus?" Fred squeaked.

"Where? Let me see!" George gasped.

"I thought they were impossible to get now!" squealed Alicia Spinnet.

"Who did you pay off, Harry, to get that?" teased Angelina Johnson.

"Must have been someone with a lot of Galleons," added Katie Bell mischievously.

His teammates crowded around him, each one trying to see or touch the broomstick.

Harry was flustered by all the attention and just stood there while they all admired the broom. His mind was not on the game, but on how he was ever going to repay Severus' generosity. From the reactions of his teammates, he feared that the professor had put himself in debt to buy this broom and Harry felt sharp twinges of regret, for he felt he didn't deserve anything like this after he'd rejected Snape's offer. But wait! Maybe he could accept the offer . . .after all, no one would spend such a sum on anyone unless he really wanted a child to share his life, would he? Harry bit his lip. After the game, he would think about it, and then he would go to Snape and tell him what he had decided.

The Ravenclaw team saw the broom as well, and there was much sighing and envious looks shot the young Seeker's way, as well as much speculation about where Harry had gotten the Nimbus. Unknown to them, a small blond-haired boy was hovering behind a goal post and saw the Nimbus as well.

_A Nimbus! Wonder where he got that? His fan club?_ Draco thought enviously. _I've been asking for one from Mother and Father for ages._ He scowled down at his rival, then stalked off the field, thinking that now he had another reason to detest the green-eyed Gryffindor. Normally, he would have gone directly to the stands with the other Slytherins to watch the match, for he loved Quidditch, but today he had another mission in mind. It was time to give Potter a taste of his own medicine.

HPSSHPSSHP

Severus put Hooch's whistle to his lips and blew a loud blast. The Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch were released and the players soared into the air, scattering across the sky like stardust. Severus rose upwards at nearly the same time as the two teams, keeping a sharp eye out for any attempt at foul play and also watching his unofficial ward.

Harry seemed to be relaxed and calm, he sat the Nimbus like he'd been born upon it, and for an instant, Snape turned his gaze away to watch the battle for the Quaffle and how the Beaters for both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor attacked the Bludgers. Lee Jordan, the announcer, was already giving the spectators a running commentary, Snape thought if he kept it up, he might have a future with the Wizarding Wireless.

Harry found that he felt safer on the Nimbus than he had upon the other broom he'd been riding. So he was able to relax more and concentrate upon locating the Snitch. His previous tactic was to track the winged globe from the moment it was released, and he had tried to do it this time as well, only he hadn't been prepared for the sheer speed the Nimbus possessed. When he had kicked off, the Nimbus had exploded under him like a rocket, carrying him high into the air before his eyes managed to fix upon the Snitch.

The Ravenclaw Seeker spotted the Snitch as well, and dove down towards it.

Harry managed to neatly intercept her and the Nimbus whipped him about in a corkscrew 180 that left the other Seeker gaping. Harry narrowed his focus and streaked after the winged golden ball, which moved like lightning, like a hummingbird on speed, it danced and twirled about, here, there, and everywhere.

Harry followed it across the sky as best he could, relying on the Nimbus' speed and the alertness of Fred and George to keep the Bludgers from interfering in his pursuit.

Severus' eyes were drawn once more to his ward, and inwardly he cursed the insane impulse that had led him to buy a professional racing broom for a mere eleven-year-old. _Snape, what the HELL were you thinking? _His conscience scolded him fiercely. _I must have had a bout of temporary insanity. Look at how fast he's going. Like a bat out of hell and then some._ _If Lily were here now, she'd probably hex you to pieces._

Even though he'd personally placed charms upon the broom, he knew that might not be enough to keep Harry safe. Quidditch was a dangerous sport, anything could happen. Severus felt his heart crawl into his throat as he watched Harry slingshot about a goal post, narrowly avoiding crashing. He wondered if the boy was crazy, filled with arrogance, or simply fearless. He cursed Dumbledore for making him referee this match—the Headmaster knew he detested Quidditch! He spun about, narrowly avoiding the Quaffle.

Fifteen minutes had gone by and the score was tied at 10 to 10. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams were evenly matched, it seemed. Harry had lost the Snitch in the clouds, but soon spotted it again at the opposite end of the field. He urged the Nimbus faster and weaved in and out of the other players squabbling over the Quaffle.

No one could have predicted what happened next.

Severus saw an oddly shaped cloud gliding across the sky, it looked like a narrow strip of silver and black, like a storm cloud, but there wasn't another sign of inclement weather about. He dismissed it briefly to look over at Harry and it was then that the cloud expanded and spat out steel gray creatures shaped like vicious hounds with bat-like wings and eyes that burned a lurid yellow, formed of smoke and swirling storm winds.

Hermione stared at the strange swirling things that had appeared out of nowhere and tapped Ron on the shoulder. "Ron, what are those things over there?"

"Huh?" Ron had been focusing on Alicia Spinnet scoring another goal and had not seen the smoke creatures appear. "What things?"

Hermione pointed.

Ron gasped. "Merlin's pants! They're storm spirits."

"What are they?" Hermione asked. "What are they doing here?" A moment later her question was answered and she screamed as they dove down towards her best friend. "Ron! They're . . ._attacking _Harry!"

Ron's eyes bulged as the deadly spirits surged towards Harry on his Nimbus, who was so intent upon catching the Snitch that he didn't realize the danger he was in. "Harry! Watch out!" he screamed, knowing all the while that it was hopeless, his friend couldn't hear him over the screaming wind and even if he did, an apprentice wizard was no match for three hungry storm spirits.

Severus saw the storm spirits converge upon Harry, and for a moment he watched in disbelief. Storm spirits were not something that occurred naturally, not even in Hogwarts, which was drenched with magical influences. They had to be summoned, though once summoned, they gleefully wreaked havoc wherever they happened to be. They were devious, cunning, and delighted in causing mayhem. Right then they were diving at Harry, screeching wickedly.

Harry felt something icy cold snatch his arm and yank hard. "Hey! What the bloody hell?" he screamed, before feeling something hard and cold, like a frost-coated knife, grab his other arm and drag him off his broom. He tried to hold onto the Nimbus, but his arms went numb and heavy, cold shooting through him. His fingers opened, unable to feel the broomstick and he heard the treacherous howl of the wind as it swept him away.

The storm spirits threw Harry into the air, swirling about him like a tornado, their long muzzles gaping, spewing out icy cold laughter as well as arctic winds that formed ice crystals across Harry's glasses. He was simultaneously sucked downward into a vortex and then released to bounce atop the air currents.

Severus flew faster than he ever had in his life, right into the teeth of the capricious and vicious spirits, his wand out and giving the first spirit a concentrated blast of magic that blew the hound-shaped creature into wisps of smoke. But in his fury he had not reckoned that doing so might cause the spirits to drop Harry.

By then, the other players were also becoming affected by the spirits and they were banging into each other and screaming, the game forgotten as they sought land their brooms before they spun out of control. Within minutes all was chaos in the air.

Harry tumbled through the air like a ragdoll, only to be caught by Severus.

Severus grunted as sixty pounds of falling boy collided with his chest, and unable to brace himself for the impact, he was knocked backwards off his broom.

He had barely time enough to cast a Cushioning Charm and another to slow his flight so he wouldn't end up with his brains splattered all over, before the two storm spirits attempted to rip Harry from his arms. Terrified that they would succeed, Severus locked his arms about the boy and prayed they would hit the ground before the wicked things succeeded.

Skullduggery had been observing the match and his wizard master from his perch in the stands on the Slytherin side. The raven was amused at how the silly two-legs attempted to fly like birds, and he enjoyed watching them, even if they were clumsy as chickens in the air. But when the storm spirits attacked Harry and Severus, the raven cawed in alarm, sensing that his wizard and the raven boy were in peril.

The raven flapped upwards into the sky, releasing a long loud cry as he did so. Ravens were Keepers of the Old Magics, and on rare occasions could use this knowledge to summon help for themselves and their wizard companions when needed. Thus Skullduggery used his knowledge of ancient magic to call upon a powerful ally, one who had always aided the trickster ravens, though the help was never without a price.

But the price would be reckoned later.

There came a terrific BOOM!

Then the sky grew dark and the clouds opened up and rain came pelting down.

Accompanying the rain was a huge raptor with wings of red, black, yellow, and white, thunder boomed with every beat of its wings and lightning flashed from its eyes, reducing the pursuing storm spirits to mere puffs of ash. The Thunderbird, sacred magical beast of Native American myth, circled the pitch once and inclined its head to the tiny raven. _Little brother, I have come as you wished, and saved those in need. You owe me a debt, be ready when next I Summon you._

In the next instant, the thunderbird vanished, taking the rain and lightning with it.

Snape and Harry fell to the ground, striking the ground hard in spite of the charms Severus had cast.

For one moment Harry lay still, gasping for air, until he sat up and realized that he was lying on top of his teacher, who was motionless upon the ground.

"Professor?" he called, fear making him unable to speak in more than a whisper. "Professor Snape, are you okay?"

The man's face was wet from the rain, pale, and his eyes were closed. Harry quickly scrambled off him, terrified that Snape was dead. Tentatively, he put a hand against the professor's nose and felt warm breath hit his palm. _He's breathing, that's a good sign,_ Harry told himself, but terror still crushed his throat. _Don't die, Severus! Please! I never got the chance to tell you that I . . .want you for my guardian. I really do! Please, please . . .don't die!_ He didn't even realize he had spoken those words aloud until he heard Snape groan and open his eyes.

"Not dying . . .Cushioning Charm helped . . .might have broken something though . . ."

Severus attempted to sit up, gasping as a bolt of agony shot through his shoulder and back. Before he could say anything else, Dumbledore was there, kneeling beside him.

"Severus, you need to go to the Hospital Wing. After a fall like that, you've probably broken something. Let me summon a stretcher, my boy." Waving his wand, a stretcher popped up, and then the old wizard gently levitated his injured Potions Master upon it. "Harry, are you all right? Do you need Poppy to have a look at you too?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. I'm not hurt. Professor Snape broke my fall," he managed to say. He struggled to keep from crying like a baby.

"Albus, how is he?" asked McGonagall, rushing over to them.

Severus had suddenly gone grey and passed out.

"We need to let Poppy heal him, Minerva." Albus replied. "_Mobili Corpus!_"

"Merlin's bones, Albus! What happened out there? I've never seen anything like it in all my years as a teacher here."

Before Dumbledore could reply, Skull landed upon the comatose Potions Master and made a sound that was half-sob and half-cry. "Storm spirits! Poor Sev!" He huddled against Severus' chest like a black sentinel.

Minerva gasped. Then she saw Harry, who was still standing next to Severus' stretcher. "Potter, are you all right? Were you hurt?"

Harry shook his head. "I . . .they didn't hurt me . . .not like . . .the professor," he mumbled.

Minerva looked at him sympathetically. "Nevertheless, you've had quite a shock and should let Poppy examine you. Get your broom and go and get changed, then report to the Hospital Wing as soon as you're presentable. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, not bothering to tell her he would have gone there anyway to see how Snape was. He glanced about for his broom and discovered it lying a few feet away. Miraculously, it seemed undamaged. He hurried to pick it up and then followed the two teachers off the pitch, ignoring the other students who tried to grab his sleeve and ask him questions.

All he cared about now was getting out of his uniform and into dry clothes, he was soaking wet, cold, and sick with fear over Snape. Once more Snape had been injured trying to save him. He didn't know what the hell "storm spirits" were, but for some reason they had been trying to kill him. That thought turned him cold and he fought to keep his teeth from chattering as he ran from the pitch back to the Gryffindor locker room.

He was the first to arrive, the rest of his teammates were still on the field, discussing what had happened with their friends. Trembling, he started to remove his robes and shirt. There were long scratches upon his shoulders, scratches that were rimed with white skin, which burned icily when he ran a finger across them. But he ignored them, instead unlocking his locker and pulling out his dry clothing.

He tossed his wet robes on the floor and began to dress hastily. But it wasn't until he pulled on his school robes and reached in his pocket to pull out his watch and see what time it was that he realized it was not there. _My watch! It's not here. But that's impossible. I put it in here, I know I did._

He peered into the locker, it was empty. He looked about on the floor, but it was nowhere nearby. He pulled out his pockets, first one and then the other, growing more and more frantic. Where was it? How could he have lost it? It was the only thing he had with his mother's picture, the only thing he had to remind him of her face. He patted his jeans, praying it had gotten stuck in his back pocket. Nothing.

He dropped to his knees and crawled about, looking under the benches and all along the floor.

Once again, he turned up empty-handed. He had lost the gift Severus had given him. He didn't know how it could have happened, but there was no arguing facts. Feeling even more nauseous than before, aching all over, Harry trudged from the locker room and up the corridor to the Hospital Wing. His hand slid automatically into the right pocket of his robe, where the watch used to be, hoping that by some miracle it would reappear. But his hand closed over empty air. The watch was gone.

Head down, he walked quickly through the hallway, hoping that Severus was not awake yet, for he did not know how he could face the wizard and tell him that the watch Snape had entrusted him with was now missing.

**In the previous chapter I had made a mistake and had Gryffindor playing Slytherin in the second match, but I changed it to Ravenclaw. Why Ravenclaw? I just felt the eagles needed to play Gryffindor first. And yes, i know my timing for the matches is off a bit, but since this is my AU, events occur differently than the book. VERY DIFFERENTLY. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, usually I don't like writing sports scenes since I'm the world's worst sports fan, I don't much care about any sport played, not even soccer, which my dad played professionally. The only sport I can watch is show jumping, because I love horses. **

**How did you like the Thunderbird appearance? I love Native American myths and felt that he deserved a place here, alongside Skull, who personifies Raven, the clever trickster and keeper of ancient magic. **

**I'm sure you can guess who stole Harry's watch, right?**

**I may not be able to update this for quite sometime, since my work has been giving me killer shifts and I have many things to do for the holidays, like baking and decorating and so on. So please be patient, I will update when I can. I will not forget my stories! Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season if I don't update before Christmas. **


	8. Trouble At Gringotts

**8**

**Trouble At Gringotts**

When Harry arrived at the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey directed him to put on the striped hospital pajamas lying on the alcove bed and lie down. He saw Severus lying pale and still in a bed just down from the one he had and looked inquiringly at the medi-witch. "Madam Pomfrey, will Professor Snape be all right?"

"In a day or two he'll mend, boy." The witch said briskly.

"Was he badly hurt?"

"He's got a slipped disc in his back and a broken collarbone, plus a few cracked ribs. Nothing truly life threatening, all things considered." She shook her head and sighed. "He's becoming as accident prone as you are, Mr. Potter." She pointed to the bed. "Bed, young man."

Harry obeyed, sitting on the bed. "It wasn't really an accident, Madam Pomfrey. There were these evil ghost dogs or something that ripped me off my broom and tossed me in the air and Professor Snape caught me—"

She held up a hand. "Never mind the explanations, Mr. Potter. There have been more crazy happenings going on at this school now than I've seen in all my years as a mediwitch here and I'd prefer not to go into detail, spares me having to take Dreamless Sleep to keep the nightmares at bay." She drew her wand and ran it over him. "Hmm. Well, you're bruised but otherwise intact. You've had quite a shock, and could probably use a Calming Draft."

She administered a Calming Draft and then spread some Bruise Balm upon him. Harry protested, red to the tips of his ears, insisting that he was fine, until a soft authoritative voice ordered, "Mr. Potter, be still and allow Madam Pomfrey to tend to you."

Harry thrilled to hear that familiar voice. "Yes, sir." He found himself obeying, lying still, even if he felt embarrassed as hell.

"You'll find, Potter, that you'll be able to sleep sooner if you let her do all her poking and prodding in the beginning." Snape drawled.

Harry buried his face in his pillow to hide his grin.

Pomfrey scowled. "Very funny, Severus. You're next."

The Potions Master grimaced.

But he swallowed the potions she gave him without complaint.

After instructing her charges to take a nap, Poppy bustled off to her office to check on all the first year vaccination records, most had already had all the required vaccinations, though a few were due for boosters, and a few of the Muggleborn and Muggle raised children needed to receive them for the first time. One of those was Harry, though she decided to allow him to rest today and give him the vaccinations tomorrow.

Harry only pretended to close his eyes, but as soon as he thought Pomfrey was out of earshot, he opened them and sat up. "Professor?"

Severus also opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the eleven-year-old. "What is it, Harry? Are you all right?"

"Yes, sir. Just a little bruised. How are you?"

"I've had worse. It was fortunate that I managed to cast a Cushioning Charm when I did, otherwise the damage would have been worse." Severus said candidly.

Harry flinched just thinking about it. Once again Severus had been injured and nearly killed because of him. "I'm sorry," he said hoarsely.

The professor arched an eyebrow. "You have no need to apologize. It was not you who summoned the storm spirits and set them upon you. And anyone else who happened to be nearby. If you wish to blame someone, then blame the one who attacked you."

"But . . . you were hurt rescuing me."

"Your point?" asked Snape testily. "I am your protector, that is what I am supposed to do."

"Because you promised my mum."

"That is only one reason. You, yourself, are worthy of my concern and care. Never doubt that. _Never_."

Snape's sincerity warmed Harry to the core of his being, alleviating some of the guilt he felt. But still, he felt responsible for the professor's injuries. "I just don't want . . .you to die for me," he whispered, swallowing hard. "Not like they did."

"I cannot promise you that, Harry. You have powerful enemies, ones who are ruthless and cruel. But know that I do not risk my life on a whim, or recklessly. I am no martyr, and I will protect you best alive. What occurred today was as a result of my own carelessness, I should have been expecting something like this. If not for Skullduggery's interference . . ." Snape broke off abruptly. He did not want to discuss what had happened any further, because he did not have all the facts.

"Okay. I understand," Harry said. Then he added, "But it wasn't your fault either, sir. How could you know he would do what he did?"

"I have more experience than you do," answered the other.

"Where is Skull?" Harry asked then, looking about for the raven, who had been with Snape after the fall.

"He's gone back to my quarters to rest. Calling the thunderbird took a lot out of him."

"A thunderbird? What's that?"

Severus explained about the powerful Native American creature, an ally of ravens everywhere. "Ravens are the Keepers of the Old Knowledge, that is how Skull knew to summon the thunderbird. But no spell or knowledge comes without cost. He is exhausted, and while he would have preferred to stay beside me, I know he will rest better in the comfort of my quarters. By the morning, he should be fine." The professor yawned, staring to feel the effects of the potions Pomfrey had given him. He was beginning to drowse.

"I'm glad." Harry said sincerely. Should he tell Snape of his decision about the guardianship now? The professor seemed relaxed and Harry had screwed up his courage for this moment. He opened his mouth to speak, when he heard a soft snore coming from Snape's bed. Drat! He closed his mouth and exhaled softly. Then he rolled over on his stomach. Tomorrow would probably be a better time. As he started to drift off, he recalled his missing watch, since he was used to glancing at it before he fell asleep, and felt its loss stab him anew. He knew that was one thing Snape would be furious with him for, and rightly so. Though how it had disappeared from his pocket was a mystery. He closed his eyes and drifted off, dreaming of the thunderbird carrying him away, dangling from the chain of his missing watch to an unknown future.

The next morning, Poppy released Harry, saying he could return to Gryffindor Tower. Severus, however, would have to stay there for another day, postponing their trip to Gringotts till Sunday. Harry regretted the delay, but knew that Severus needed the recovery time, and so didn't complain. Most of the Gryffindors were happy that Harry had not been hurt and were amazed at the fact that Snape had saved him and there was also lots of speculation about what had actually happened at the match to cause such a disaster.

Harry told Hermione and Ron that the game had been disrupted by storm spirits.

"Storm spirits? I've never heard of them," Hermione said, puzzled. "They're not in _Fantastic Beasts_."

"Not everything is in a book, Hermione," Ron pointed out. "But all I know about them is that they're really evil."

"It's too bad we can't research them in the library," Harry said wistfully. He really missed being able to go and look up information on his own. Then an idea came to him. "Maybe we should ask Lena. Or Skullduggery."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Hermione said eagerly. "Let's see where Lena is now."

So they all trooped down to the library and found Lena cataloguing some more volumes. "Good morning!" she greeted. "What brings you here so early on a Saturday?"

"Uh . . . we need some information," Harry began awkwardly.

"On storm spirits!" Hermione put in.

"Oh? Such as?"

"Where they come from," Ron added. "Do you have a book or something?"

Lena thought for a moment. "I did have a volume about ghosts and spirits around here, but right now I don't know exactly where it is. What I can tell you is that storm spirits are formed by forging the unquiet spirit of an evil doer with an astral wind. They often take the form of dogs or jackals. They are born of hatred and death and when they are summoned, that is what follows in their wake. They are extremely hard to control and once unleashed will destroy all that they can until they are banished. I heard that a thunderbird was summoned to banish them, a fortunate thing since thunderbirds are natural enemies of storm spirits."

"That was Skull's doing," Harry informed the librarian. "Professor Snape told me he called the thunderbird."

"Ah. Well, that doesn't really surprise me, since ravens are Keepers of the Old Ways and have knowledge beyond most familiars. Or wizards. Professor Snape is very lucky to have been chosen by one."

"Why aren't there more raven familiars?" Hermione asked.

"It's a rare pairing, not one that everyone is suited to. Ravens are very independent birds and they don't obey anyone blindly, not even their wizard masters. It is said that a raven chooses his witch or wizard based on need and magic. So Severus must need Skullduggery badly."

Harry thought of how alone the professor always seemed and supposed that Lena was probably correct. Snape did not seem to have any close friends except Skullduggery now. And Harry.

"Big surprise there," Ron muttered.

Harry frowned at him. True, Snape might not be the nicest of teachers, but he didn't deserve Ron sniping at him. "Do you know anything else about storm spirits, Lena?"

"Regrettably, no. That is all I can remember off the top of my head." Lena told him. "But I shall keep an eye out for the book about spirits, I know it's around here somewhere."

"Would you like us to help you catalogue the books?" Hermione volunteered.

"That would be most welcome. Thank you," Lena said, and gave them a box to sort through. "Normally Aunt Irma and I would be working together on this, but she has gone to speak to the Headmaster about the funds the Ministry was supposed to send to help rebuild the library. Apparently, they never arrived and might have been lost or misappropriated."

"That's terrible!" Harry exclaimed. "Can you get them back?"

"That's what Aunt Irma and Professor Dumbledore are trying to do. They've been at the Ministry all morning." Lena replied, beginning to sort through another box. She held up a book and tapped it with her wand. "Sort and shelve," she said aloud and the book received a library sticker upon its spine and flew over to the correct shelf, or if the shelf was not present, a box labeled accordingly.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had fun casting that small charm, which was simple enough for their beginning powers to manage, and spent two hours pleasantly assisting the young librarian. By lunch, Lena halted and said it was time to eat, and accompanied them down to the hall. It had been an enjoyable experience, even though Harry didn't find the book on ghosts Lena had mentioned.

After lunch, he did some homework with Hermione, ignoring Ron's grumbling that he was friends with a bunch of bookworms, and thus making the redhead do his Charms essay as well.

Then Ron played Wizard Chess with Harry and Hermione read a novel she had brought from home.

All in all it was a pleasant Saturday, and when Harry went to visit Professor Snape before supper, he found the Potions Master looking quite well, feeding Skull bits of meat from his hand and stroking the glossy ebony feathers.

"Tomorrow we shall visit Gringotts," was the first thing the professor said when Harry opened his mouth.

Harry smiled. "Hello, sir. You're feeling better then, sir?"

"I am much improved."

The boy smiled tentatively. Then he took a deep breath. "I'm glad you're feeling better because I . . . have something to tell you. I . . .I've been thinking and I've decided that . . . I want you to be my guardian. Legally. If you still want me." There! It was said. He felt both relieved and terribly nervous. What if Snape had changed his mind?

"You are certain this is what you desire?" Severus queried, his heart doing a curious leap in response.

"Yes. Even if you hadn't saved my life before, my mum trusted you to do what's right. You're the only one who has ever really . . .helped me before. Or cared about me. And I'd rather live with you and scrub cauldrons than live with the Dursleys. Although I can't understand why you'd want to have me live with you . . .I mean, you don't really seem to like kids all that much."

Snape found his mouth quirking. "I'll admit, I am hardly Dad of the Year material. I find most children annoying because they don't follow directions and backtalk me, but I do not detest them. As far as being your guardian goes, I shall do my best to act more like a parent than a teacher to you, and give you a home and a place you can feel safe in, both materially and emotionally. Will that suit you? We can discuss details later on."

"It'll suit me just fine," Harry said, happiness brimming in his eyes. Before he stopped to think, he impulsively hugged the Potions Master.

Snape was startled, but then he returned the hug awkwardly, figuring he had best get used to the occasional hug once in awhile. Oddly enough, he found he didn't really mind the boy doing so, even if the last hug he had received from another person had been from Lily, before Harry had ever been born.

"I can submit the papers tomorrow at the bank, they handle all official documents of this nature, since as your guardian, I shall have control of your vault until you are of age at seventeen." Snape told him once Harry had drawn away. "We'll both need to sign in front of witnesses."

"Okay, professor." Harry said, then he looked up at the other and said, "Umm . . .should I still call you that?"

"You may. In private, you may use my given name, Severus, if you prefer."

"All right . . . sir. I mean . . . Severus." Harry agreed. Saying Severus instead of "sir" felt quite awkward, but Harry thought he would get used to it after a time. He sensed that Snape's permitting him to address him by his name was a great privilege, and also an attempt at becoming more like a family. Harry appreciated that gesture, but felt compelled to put some sort of honorific in front of it, since he had been raised to show respect to adults, even when he disliked them. "Err . . .would you mind if I called you Uncle Severus, sir? It just seems more . . .err . . ."

"Proper? Comfortable?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes sir." Harry corrected himself, struggling to speak correctly, the way his guardian did.

"That would be fine." Severus acquiesced. In a way, he preferred the title, since it showed that Harry was making an attempt to respect him as an adult and not treating him like a friend. He did not want to be too familiar, lest Harry start forgetting who was in charge. Children who lost respect for parents and guardians were often trouble later on, and Severus wanted no endless battle over authority between them. As Harry's new guardian, he set the rules, and he would make no bones about that. "Now then, I believe it's time for supper, and you've skipped too many meals as it is, so you should hurry and go eat. I shall meet you in the Entrance Hall tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp. I trust you will be punctual."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, relived that Snape did not mention the watch. He still felt sick at the thought of it. "I'll be there right after breakfast."

"Good. Off with you now." Severus laid a hand upon his shoulder and gave it a pat.

Skullduggery cawed and flew onto Harry's shoulder. "Welcome home, little brother," the raven purred, and gave the boy's ear a gentle nip, and rubbed his head against Harry's cheek.

Harry blushed at the raven's frankness and stroked Skull's chest. "Thanks, Skull. I'll see you around."

"Don't forget your Nutrient Draft," reminded his guardian as Harry walked out of the Hospital Wing. Skullduggery fluttered from his shoulder and flew back to Snape, where he proceeded to fly rings about the professor, singing , "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."

"Skulduggery, for Merlin's sake!" groaned the potions professor.

Harry dashed from the room, muffling his laughter in his sleeve. One thing was sure, he would never be bored with Skull around!

On the way to the hall, he passed Malfoy, who sneered and said, "What are you looking at, Potter?" He had a hand stuck in a pocket.

Harry just ignored him. He was in too good of a mood to get into a quarrel with Malfoy today. Then he considered how to break the news to his friends. Perhaps he ought to wait until they were in private, like working in the library, for him to broach the subject? He had a feeling that Ron, especially, would be shocked at his choice. Then he wondered how his aunt and uncle would react to the news and suspected they'd throw a celebration once they learned their freaky nephew was finally off their hands.

HPSSHPSSHP

Harry rushed through his breakfast the next morning, causing Hermione to frown at him sternly. "Harry, slow down, you'll choke."

"Yes, Mum," he quipped.

Ron snickered, spraying crumbs all over. "You tell her, mate. Girls! Always on at you for something."

Hermione gave him a sour look. "Boys! You both have the table manners of barbarians! Didn't your mother teach you not to chew with your mouth open, Ron?"

Ron shrugged. "Probably, but I forgot."

"I can see that," Hermione said disgustedly. "Harry, why are you in such a rush?"

"Uh . . .gotta meet Professor Snape in the Entrance Hall soon. We're going to Gringotts."

"Really?" Hermione looked interested.

Ron coughed and nearly spewed pumpkin juice all over. Harry swatted him on the back. "Snape's taking you to Gringotts? Why him?"

"Because he was going over to Diagon Alley and I need an adult to get there so . . ." Harry explained, trying to stick as close to the truth as possible. If Ron reacted like this when Snape was simply accompanying him somewhere, Harry shuddered to think what the other boy's reaction would be upon learning that Snape was now his legal guardian. _He'd probably pass out. Like he did before._ He finished eating his scrambled eggs and chives and ham. "Any way, I have to run. Snape will have fits if I'm not there on time."

Hermione gave him a strange look. "But Harry, it's only quarter to ten. You have fifteen minutes still." She pointed at the clock hanging over the doors.

"Oh. Right." Harry felt sheepish and stupid. He really was lost without the pocketwatch. "Uh . . .Ron, you haven't seen my watch lying about anywhere in the tower, have you?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I . . .can't find it."

"When did you have it last?" asked Hermione.

"Just before the Quidditch match, I thought I put it inside my locker, but when I went to look after it was missing. I couldn't find it anywhere."

"Hmmm . . .did you check all your pockets?"

"Yes."

"Maybe somebody nicked it," Ron suggested.

"Ron, stealing is forbidden here!" Hermione chided. "It's in the Hogwarts Rules and Regulations."

"So's dueling, but kids still try it," Ron said. "I'll bet somebody nicked it, Harry."

"How would they get into his locker?" Hermione objected.

Ron waved his wand under her nose. "Duh! Magic, of course!"

"But aren't the lockers enchanted to prevent anyone using magic on them?"

"Not really. On account of that would take a lot of energy to renew and students don't usually have anything valuable on them," Ron told her. "Least that's what Fred and George told me."

"Oh, dear."

Harry looked glum. "Well, it's gone now. I don't know how it happened but it's gone."

"Maybe you ought to report it to McGonagall or Dumbledore," Hermione suggested. "Perhaps they can find it with magic. You could say it was lost, possibly stolen."

Harry just nodded. That made sense, but he feared that Snape would learn of it and think Harry was irresponsible and take the watch back. _It was a gift. You don't take gifts back,_ his conscience argued. He looked up at the clock. "Nearly ten. I'll see you later."

"Harry, why do you need to go to Gringotts?" asked Ron curiously.

"To get money to donate to the library," he answered, then he snatched up his robes and shrugged into them, he hated eating with them on, the sleeves tended to drag in his plate. After one last wave, Harry raced from the hall.

He skidded to a halt just as Snape was emerging from the dungeons, managing not to slam into the tall wizard by the skin of his teeth. "Oops! Sorry, sir." He apologized, tossing his hair out of his eyes.

"In a bit of a hurry, are you?" the professor queried. "Gringotts isn't going anywhere."

Harry blushed and looked at his shoes.

"Very well. Come on, boy, don't dawdle." Putting a hand upon his shoulder, Severus urged his ward out of the castle.

As the doors swung shut, Malfoy, heading past the doors, caught a glimpse of his Head ushering Potter out of them. Draco smirked. Ha! Looked like Potter had earned himself detention on a Sunday morning. Draco pondered where Snape might be taking Potter for detention. The greenhouse, to pick some nasty smelling herbs? Hagrid's hut, to mulch the pumpkins with dragon dung? Or maybe even into the Forbidden Forest, to snag the hair of a banshee or something even creepier?

His mind aglow with possibilities, Malfoy started to whistle as he entered the Great Hall. As he did so, he encountered Granger and Weasley leaving. His lip curled and he would have made a comment about Weasley hoarding food since he was too poor to afford snacks and meals at the same time, but then he overheard Weasley telling Granger that he couldn't believe Snape was taking Potter to Gringotts.

Malfoy did a doubletake. Huh? Why by Merlin's starry robe would Professor Snape be taking Potter to Gringotts? Draco chewed his lower lip, his eyes narrowed. Maybe Potter owed Snape money? The Slytherin shrugged as he approached his House table. He would scout around later and see what he could pick up about Potter owing Snape money or whatever. Right now he was hungry and wanted to eat and then go flying, the perfect activity for a sunny Sunday.

As Harry and Severus crossed the grounds, Skullduggery flew down and landed upon Snape's shoulder. "Going somewhere with lots of gold, Harry?" croaked the raven, bobbing his head at the boy.

"Gringotts," Harry replied, trying hard to keep up with Severus' long stride.

"Goblins rule there. Shrewd, sharp, and with a nasty bite," recited Skull casually, preening himself. "But with lots of shiny things."

"Skullduggery, I want you to promise you will stay with me and no snatching anything from the goblins," Severus said sternly. "You know how they are about their gold."

"Aww, Sev! Not even a Knut?" whined the familiar.

"No. Your word, or else you can spend the morning in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, scaring away the garden gnomes and doxies."

The raven clicked his beak several times before agreeing.

"He likes shiny things?" Harry chuckled.

"Of course. He's a bird, and ravens are hoarders of shiny anything, whether it be jewels or tin foil. Last time he came with me to Gringotts, he stole an earring right out of a goblin's ear and made them chase him all over the lobby, the rascal. I'm lucky they didn't terminate my account."

Skull made a disparaging noise. "Tchaa! Goblins. No sense of humor."

"You mean, no tolerance for thievery," stressed the Potions Master.

"'Twasn't thievery," Skull mimicked his master's voice. "A trade. My feather for the golden bauble."

"You think your feathers are worth gold?" Harry laughed.

Skull hopped onto his shoulder and began preening Harry's hair. "There is much one can do with a raven feather, youngling. Very magical they are."

"They are?"

"In certain potions and rituals," Severus confirmed. "But goblins aren't wizards and would have no use for raven feathers."

"Humph! They could sell them!" croaked the raven.

Once they had reached Hogsmeade, Severus used the fireplace at the tavern called _The Hogshead_, run by Aberforth Dumbledore, to Floo to Diagon Alley. After brushing off Harry and himself, Snape and his ward stepped out of the fireplace and walked out the door of _The Leaky Cauldron. _Luckily there were few patrons at this time in the pub, so Harry wasn't recognized.

The bank was the first place Harry had gone to previously, and it was the same now . . .except that he knew what to expect now. Together, they mounted the steps and entered Gringotts. The queue for the goblin teller was not so long, it simply felt that way to Harry's stressed nerves. All week long he had waited for this day and now that it was here he couldn't bear to wait another minute.

Severus finally approached the teller and spoke in a soft voice. "Mr. Potter here wishes to make a withdrawal on his account. After that he also wishes to put his signature to a legal document pertaining to a guardianship." That last was spoken so softly that the goblin strained to hear it.

"Yes, indeed. Do you have your key, Mr. Potter?"

Harry took the key from about his neck and handed it to the goblin.

"Very good, sir. Follow me."

As before, Harry and Snape were taken deep into the bowels of the earth via a magical cart and Harry withdrew one hundred Galleons and fifty Sickles to donate to the library of Hogwarts.

"That is quite a sum, Harry. Are you certain you wish to give that much?"

"Yes. I love the library and want it to be finished."

"Very well." Snape cast a Shrinking Charm over the bag Harry held and then tucked it away in his robe pocket.

The goblin, Yellowfang, then brought them back to the upper levels so they could enter a sparsely furnished room and have Magnus Grimtooth witness the signing of the guardianship papers by both Harry and Severus, as well as adding his own to it.

Once all the signatures had been added, the parchment glowed with red light and tendrils shot out and wrapped about Snape's and Harry's wrists, binding them together. They then vanished.

"'Tis done, then. A good binding contract." Magnus said in approval, giving them a nod. "You are now guardian and ward. Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you, Magnus," Severus said, bowing courteously. "Harry, would you mind waiting here for a moment? I have a parcel to pick up for the Headmaster. Skullduggery will stay with you." Severus handed his familiar to Harry, who had been unusually well-behaved all this time. "Magnus, here is the key to the vault I need," Snape showed him a large ornate key.

"Come, Professor Snape," the goblin beckoned him out of the room.

Harry went and sat down in one of the ladder-back chairs, a happy smile spreading across his face. Finally he had a place to call home, and someone who cared if he lived or died.

"Are you happy, Harry?" asked Skull, peering into Harry's eyes.

"Yes, I'm very happy. Maybe we could go and have an ice cream later to celebrate? D'you think Uncle Severus would be okay with that?"

"Certainly. He loves butter pecan. My favorite is Rocky Road. Have you a favorite?"

"Uh . . .I like them all," Harry said quickly, not wanting to admit that he had only tasted ice cream once or twice before and didn't really have a favorite.

"Then you shall have a hard time choosing. Fortescue's has over a hundred combinations."

Harry whistled in shock. Then he asked Skull if he could name some flavors and the raven began going down the list.

While his ward and familiar were discussing ice cream, Snape was retrieving a very important item from the vault. He had told Dumbledore to remove it before this, but the old man had insisted it was safer here for the time being, while the gauntlet was being created. Now that it was finished, Dumbledore had asked Severus to bring the special parcel to him.

Snape tucked the object inside his sleeve and took the cart back up and met Harry in Magnus' office. "Potter, are you ready? We shouldn't linger."

Harry stood up. "Yes, sir. Uncle Severus? May we go for an ice cream? Please?"

Severus hesitated, then seeing the joy in the boy's eyes. "Very well, I suppose that would be all right."

Harry let out a whoop and raced out the door into the lobby.

Just as the screams began and several alarms began to sound.

Harry froze. "Uncle Severus, what's going on?"

Severus' hand fastened upon Harry like a claw. "I don't know. That alarm only sounds if there's been a break-in. Stay close to me."

The alarm was making poor Harry's ears hurt and Skull screeched loudly at the terrible din.

People were running to and fro, yelling and leaving the building without making a transaction. Goblins rushed grimly about, some wearing armor, others with staves. "What will they do if they catch the person stealing? Will they go to jail?"

"That is wizard justice, not goblin. The goblins own the bank and take a dim view of thieves. If they catch the intruder, they will kill him. Almost positive." Severus said, his wand out.

There came a loud bang and smoke billowed up from the vault entrance.

A large shadowy figure advanced across the lobby, wand pointed at the customers, stripping them of all their valuables. Across the hall, yet another was doing the same.

Snape glanced about, trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it. Like Hogwarts, Gringotts had Anti-Apparition wards up. He surreptitiously reached inside a pocket and hissed, "Skullduggery, to me."

The raven flew onto Snape's wrist, black claws gripping gently. "You called, my captain?"

"Take this back to the school. Deliver it only to the Headmaster. Fly!"

Skullduggery took the parcel in one foot while Severus launched him from his wrist.

The raven flew high above the combatants, avoiding all the chaos. In moments he had flown through the doors and was winging his way back to the school.

One of the dark robed figures turned and spotted the raven and sent bolts of magic after the bird.

Harry gasped and cried out in anger, but he needn't have worried.

Skullduggery agilely avoided the bolts and they slammed into the wall and arched doorway. The raven insolently flipped his tail at his attackers before soaring high into the sky with the secret parcel.

Snape's grip tightened almost painfully upon Harry's shoulder. The black clad figures were nearly upon them, though they hadn't spotted them yet, standing as they were half in and out of the entrance to the lobby on the right hand side. "Not a sound," hissed the professor. Then he spun Harry about and ushered him back down the corridor.

Together they took refuge in the now dimly lit corridor, until they reached the small office they'd occupied before.

"Under the desk. Quickly!" Snape ordered, and Harry crawled beneath the large oak desk, hidden completely from view.

Snape took up sentry before it, wand out, and waited.

Soon the alarms were accompanied by roars, as of a great beast, and then cries of pain.

Still Snape did not move.

Harry, curled up under the desk was both scared and curious. What was happening to the bank robbers? Had the goblins unleashed some terrible creature upon them? And what had they been after? He put his head against his knees and waited, his breath coming in harsh pants.

Finally the klaxon died away and the so did the roaring.

Severus waited a full minute before calling Harry to come out.

Just as Harry emerged from under the desk, the door to the office opened.

Severus moved like lightning unleashed, his wand twirling in a complex countercharm that would repel many an offensive spell thrown at him or his ward. A web of bright silver surrounded him and Harry encasing them in a protective weave of iridescent light.

Only to see Magnus' squat form enter the office. He held up both hands as a gesture of peace. "Here now, Mr. Snape. It's only me. No need to be alarmed. We had a bit of an incident, some fool thief tried to burgle Vault Number 713. A few accomplices tried to hold up some of our customers, but thankfully no one was hurt."

"What happened to the burglars?" asked Harry, somewhat breathlessly.

Magnus smiled, an evil little smile. "Let us just say , young man, that they are no longer part of this world."

Upon hearing that, Snape banished his web, and then they bid Magnus good day.

Once out on the street, where many people were milling about and talking excitedly about the break-in, and reporters from _The Daily Prophet_ were questioning people who had been inside, Snape hurried Harry down the stairs and away from the scene of the crime. Or almost crime.

When they were safely lost in a large crowd, Harry looked up at Severus and said, "Holy crap! We were almost in the middle of a _robbery_! That's so wicked!"

Severus managed to paint a scowl on his face just in time, though in truth Potter's reaction was that of a typical eleven-year-old, more excited than fearful. "Language, Harry. What just occurred did not frighten you at all?"

"Sorry. Well, I was scared, but only for a little. You had it under control, Uncle Severus. What was that spell you cast over us? Would it have blown those burglars to smithereens?"

"In essence, yes it would have, as well as absorbing any magic they threw at us."

"Neat! Could you teach me it someday?"

"Yes, when you are of sufficient maturity and magical ability. Considering the amount of trouble you attract, Harry, that spell will be one of the most useful you shall ever learn."

"Does it have a name?"

"It does. It is called a _Web of Dissolution_, for all but the Killing Curse dissolves under that charm. It is not a spell anyone can cast, only the most powerful can manage the incantation and the power conjured. But I believe you are one of the few who may manage to do so. **If** you study hard and apply yourself**."**

"What book is it in?"

"No book in your curriculum," replied Snape. "It is a spell invented by circumstance. By a very powerful witch whose Mastery of Charms was unparalleled, and her best friend, as a defense against multiple attacks by dark wizards."

"Wow! You must have known them, right?"

"Yes. In a manner of speaking. You see, I was part inventor of that charm. The other was your mother, Lily."

"Wicked!" Harry repeated and the look he flashed his guardian was one of awe. Snape was truly brilliant.

Severus managed a small smile, though recalling Lily still stung. "I believe, and mind I am not sure my hunch is correct, but I believe that she used some form of the web to protect you when You-Know-Who came to Godric's Hollow. I may be wrong, the Headmaster thinks otherwise, but either way the web is still a powerful charm against dark spells, or any spell that seeks to harm you, since spells do not always have to be dark in order to hurt."

Suddenly, Harry heard his stomach rumble.

"It would seem as though you worked up an appetite." Snape remarked wryly.

"Uh . . . I guess so." Harry admitted. "Could we go and get some ice cream?" He shot a pleading look towards Fortescue's.

"It is nearing lunch, why don't we find ourselves a spot at one of the café's nearby and have a sandwich before the ice cream?"

"All right." Harry agreed, never one to turn down an offer of food. They headed towards a small table with a green and silver umbrella and as soon as they were seated, a parchment menu appeared upon the table in front of them. Harry waited until Severus had picked his up before examining it. He wondered if Snape had a limit on how much he could spend for lunch and therefore Harry could only get a cold salad plate or a diet fruit cup? He was about to ask when Snape told him to order whatever he liked.

Harry goggled. He could actually _choose_. He spent several minutes perusing the menu before finally settling upon a Paddington burger and chips. It wasn't too expensive and Harry loved hamburgers.

The food arrived in a few minutes, piping hot and inbetween juicy onion-filled bites of his burger, Harry asked Snape more questions about Lily.

Severus had ordered a hot roast beef on a toasted bun with au jus, and he answered Harry as best he could while eating bites of the tender beef and crusty bread dipped in gravy. He was relieved that Harry had the sense not to speak of the mysterious package out in public, though he could see the curiosity simmering in the green eyes over it. _He is sure to pepper me with questions about it once we return to school._

"So . . .Mum liked potions and charms and was great at both. Did you have a favorite subject besides potions? And why do you like potions so much?"

"Why do I like potions so much?" Severus mused. "That is like asking an artist why he loves to paint, or an author why she loves words. I just do. It is born in me, and is what I do best. But there was another subject I excelled at, though potions will ever be my first love."

"What was it?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh! I can see why you'd be an ace at that. What did my dad do well in?"

"Transfiguration and Defense. Also getting into trouble. He was almost always in detention."

Harry accepted that without blinking. For some reason that did not surprise him.

There was plenty more Snape could have told James' son about his father, but he chose not to speak of it then, recalling those memories would curdle his stomach, and he had no wish to end this day with an upset stomach. After settling the bill, Severus took Harry to Fortescue's, where they each had a small sundae.

Harry had a scrumptious fudge silk swirl with nuts, hot chocolate sauce, and loads of whipped cream, plus a cherry.

Severus ordered a butter pecan with a drizzle of caramel and a small amount of whipped cream and extra nuts.

They ate slowly, savoring the sweet, as only those who have grown up without many can.

Harry set down his spoon, his stomach pleasantly full, and gave Severus a warm smile. "Thank you for everything, Uncle Severus. This was the best lunch I've ever had."

"You are most welcome, Harry." One long-fingered hand reached out and tousled his hair. "I find having a meal here in private is worth ten in the Great Hall. Now, I have one more stop to make at the cauldron shop and the apothecary before we return to Hogwarts."

Harry eagerly followed him. He didn't want the outing to end.

But of course it did, and they Flooed back to Hogsmeade some two and a half hours later. As the two walked up the path towards the school, Harry asked Snape in a whisper what he had given Skullduggery to carry back to the school.

Severus arched an eyebrow and replied, "That, child, is between me and the Headmaster. Do not meddle in the affairs of your teachers, Mr. Potter. There are things it is not safe for you to know."

Harry looked crestfallen. He had overstepped his bounds. "Sorry, sir. I just figured . . . never mind."

Snape caught Harry's chin in his hand, lifting it until the boy was facing him. "Understand, what I keep from you is knowledge you are not ready for yet. It is not because I enjoy being secretive and keeping you in the dark, or that I don't trust you. There are things too dangerous for you to know, and such knowledge could only hurt you. What you do not know cannot be coerced out of you. So I shall keep my silence. For now. Someday, when you are able to protect yourself better and guard your mind, I shall tell you them."

Harry was disappointed, but he understood why Snape would not reveal his secret package. He thought about trying to wheedle it out of the tall professor, but then decided against it. Snape had already treated him much better than the Dursleys ever had and he did not want to ruin the time they had spent together by making Severus angry. He knew he ought to be grateful the secretive man had explained as much as he had. So he reigned in his insatiable curiosity and stopped asking questions. Perhaps he could figure out Snape's secret on his own.

Once they had reached the castle, they parted ways, for Severus had to speak with Albus about the parcel Skullduggery had delivered. Before he did so, however, the Potions Master instructed his ward to come to his quarters around eight o'clock in the evening. "I have something to show you, a surprise which I think you will like better than knowing what the mysterious package is."

"I'll be there, sir." Harry promised. This day just kept getting better and better.

Snape swept away to the gargoyle statue and Dumbledore, while Harry went up to Gryffindor Tower to find Hermione and Ron and tell them about his adventures in Diagon Alley and give Hermione the donation for the library.

**Okay, here's my chapter for the New Year, a little bit early. Hope you all liked what went on here.**

**As I stated in an earlier AN, this is a very different version of the first book, which I'm sure you can tell after reading this chapter. Perhaps it answers a question made earlier by a reviewer who asked where Fluffy was and if the trio had discovered him yet. **

**Who wants to take a guess at what Snape has for a surprise for Harry? I welcome your input, as always!**

**Hope everyone has had a great holiday season and best wishes for the new year! **


	9. Unexpected Discovery

**9**

**Unexpected Discovery**

"Say _what_?" Ron exclaimed loudly, nearly choking upon the treacle fudge he was eating. "There was a break-in at _Gringotts_?" His eyes were practically falling from his head as he spoke those words.

"How terrible!" Hermione cried. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Yeah, the robbers," Harry told her.

"Did they get arrested?" the girl asked. "Did you get to see the police—I think they're called Aurors, right?—in action?"

"Umm . . .no." Harry began.

"Hermione, if there's a breach of security at Gringotts, the goblins handle it," Ron interrupted. "And I've heard they take no prisoners." He made a slashing motion across his throat.

Hermione looked alarmed. But then she regained her composure. "Ron, come on. You're just putting me on. Surely they wouldn't just . . . kill a thief. Without a trial?"

"You don't know the goblins, girl. Bloodthirsty and hard as iron and they _hate_ anyone who steals their gold . . . or anyone else's." Ron stated. "Right, Harry?"

Hermione turned to look at her other friend. To her shock, Harry nodded.

"Yes, that's true. Professor Snape even said so. And after it was over, and Magnus came back, he told me that the thieves were gone from this earth and you know what that means."

"Yup. Ears and finger stew for dinner at _his_ house tonight." Ron remarked, with a wicked smirk.

"Ron, that's sick!"

"But probably true," the other shrugged. "Goblins believe that eating the flesh of their enemies gives them power over them. At least that's what my brother Bill told me, and he should know, he works with them. He's a Cursebreaker."

"That sounds like a cool job," Harry said, still trying to figure what the mysterious package was that Snape had retrieved for Dumbledore. What could the Headmaster have put in the bank vault if noy money?

"I wonder what the thieves were after? Harry, do you know?" asked Hermione.

"Money? Jewels?" he said. "They were snitching things from people in the lobby."

But Hermione frowned. "They could've done that outside the bank. Pickpockets work best in crowds. Why risk getting caught inside the bank? They must have been after something else."

Ron gave her an astonished glance. "When did you get to be an expert on criminals, Hermione? Is there something you're not telling us?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Actually, Ron, there is. I'm really the daughter of an underworld crime boss and my daddy wants me to learn magic so I can help him in his illegal activities."

"Merlin, Hermione! You aren't going to?"

Harry burst out laughing. "Ron, you idiot! You really believed that?"

Ron went red as he suddenly realized how foolish he had been. "Well . . . you never know, Harry. She's smart enough to be a criminal mastermind."

Hermione didn't know whether to be pleased or insulted by that statement. She continued the original thread of her discussion. "There must have been something in Gringotts that they wanted badly. Enough to risk death for it."

"Yes, I think so too," Harry added. Did he dare to reveal Snape's mission to his friends? "Maybe it's some kind of magical artifact or something? Something very powerful or expensive?"

"That makes sense," Hermione agreed. "Did they try to break into a vault?"

"I think so. There was more than one of them. We saw two pinching stuff off people in the lobby, but I think there were more trying to steal from a vault too."

By then several other students had overheard their conversation and word quickly spread about the break-in. Most students were rather shocked that anyone could be stupid enough to try and rob Gringotts.

"It's like, nearly impossible to rob the bank. Goblin security is the best ever," Percy boasted.

"I'll bet the stupid saps learned the error of their ways soon enough," said Angelina Johnson. "Goblins show no mercy to those who break their laws."

There were murmurs of agreement from almost every witch and wizard present in the common room.

While the others were busy discussing the robbery. Harry dragged his friends into a semi-private alcove and whispered, "There's something I haven't told you yet. But before I do, I need you to swear you'll never tell about this, not for love or money."

"What is it? You can trust us, mate."

"Promise first." Harry insisted.

Both of them did.

"Good. Listen." He told about Snape retrieving a mysterious package for the Headmaster and sending it away with Skull before the robbery escalated. "It has to be something really important, other wise he wouldn't risk Skull like that."

"What could it be? A book?" Hermione wondered.

"Books belong in a library, Hermione." Ron said dismissively.

"What if they're too powerful to just stick in a library?" Harry argued. "What if they've got knowledge that could mean life or death for some people?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, Ron. Honestly, do you think I know everything?' she said, exasperated.

"No, but you sure do act like it sometimes."

Hermione glared at him. "What else did you want to tell us, Harry?"

Harry hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Errr . . .Professor Snape's my guardian now."

Ron gasped and started coughing so badly that Hermione pounded him on the back. "Are you bleeding cracked?"

"How did it happen?" Hermione wanted to know.

Harry told them. "Soon everybody will know, but right now I want to keep it a secret."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. Better watch out, mate. You might end up as potion ingredients if you make Snape mad."

Hermione shot the redhead a look of irritation. "Well, if Harry's happy about it, then so am I." She said quietly. "I wonder what sort of magical object was removed from there? How big was the package, Harry?"

"Uh, only about this big," he held out his hands to show a smallish package.

Hermione nibbled the end of her quill thoughtfully. Harry could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

They went down to supper in the hall, where Harry ate quickly, he was still trying to guess what was in the package. Afterwards, they returned to the tower, where people were still talking about the Gringotts attempted break-in. Harry began to play a game of Wizard Chess with Ron, but kept getting distracted by his friend asking questions.

Ron was still going on about Snape. "Mate, are you sure you trust the greasy cauldron stirrer?"

"Yes, Ron. He saved my life twice and he gave me his word that nothing would ever hurt me ever again. My relatives, they don't care at all about me. They'll be happy I'm not going to be living with them any more." Then he recalled the other thing he had gone to Gringotts for. "Oh, I almost forgot! Here, Hermione. Here's my contribution to the library fund." He pulled out a large sack of Galleons and Sickles and handed it to the witch.

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Oh, Harry! This is . . . it's very generous of you. Are you sure you can afford it?"

"Yes. My parents left me enough money to live on," Harry answered, knowing he was now well off. "The library needs to be restored, and if gold is what it takes, then you've got it."

"Madam Pince is going to be overjoyed." Hermione said excitedly, tucking the bag into her satchel. "I'm going to bring it to her straight away and then I have to do some homework."

"Right. What time is it?" asked Harry, glancing down at his pocket, where the watch used to be.

"Nearly eight, why?" asked Ron. "It's too early to go to sleep. How about we finish the game?"

But Harry shook his head. "Can't. Maybe later though. I've got to get to the dungeons."

"Why? Snape leave you some cauldrons to scrub as a welcome home present?" Ron asked sarcastically.

"No, but he wants to show me something. A surprise."

"Like what? A shrunken kobold head? Last year's dead bat?"

"Knock it off!" Harry snapped. "He's been good to me, Ron. So stop being an ass, okay?"

Ron looked at his friend incredulously. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes. Now keep your mouth off him." Harry rose to his feet and slung his bag over his shoulder. "See you later."

Ron just nodded dumbly. Things had certainly changed from the beginning of term. His mind still reeling from the fact that Snape was Harry's guardian, Ron pulled out a Quidditch magazine and began to read.

Hermione and Harry left the common room together, but soon parted ways, Harry to go down to the dungeons, and Hermione to deliver Harry's donation to Madam Pince.

Hermione practically skipped up the corridor. She could picture the library, restored to it's former glory, with shiny new wood paneling and brand new shelves and lights and all the books neatly labeled and categorized and comfortable chairs and study carrels.

While Hermione had visions of a book lover's paradise dancing in her head, Harry made his way to Snape's quarters, one hand stuck in the pocket of his robe, where his watch used to rest. He often played with it, rolling it back and forth between his fingers, and he hadn't realized how much it had become a habit until it was no longer there.

Harry bit his lip unhappily. He prayed Snape wouldn't bring up the watch any time soon. Harry didn't want to have to admit he had been so careless with the precious heirloom, and wished he knew where to begin looking for it. Then he recalled Skullduggery's penchant for shiny objects, and wondered if the raven might know where it was . . . or perhaps had picked it up if it had fallen out of his pocket? But Harry was certain he had put it in his locker the day of the Quidditch match. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask the sharp-eyed bird about it. In private.

Thankfully, the trip down to the dungeons was uneventful, and he paused beside Snape's door and knocked softly. "Professor, it's me, Harry."

"Enter, Mr. Potter," came the silky voice.

The door swung open and Harry stepped inside. The door swung to, but managed to catch a fold of Harry's school robe. Harry was jerked to a stop and turned to look at what had dragged him backwards. "Oh. Caught my robe," he muttered, opening the door and pulling the fabric inside. He started to shut the door, only to catch a glimpse of Malfoy and his friends standing a few feet away.

Malfoy's eyes widened, then he smirked. "In trouble again, Potty? Better watch it, get too many detentions and the professor will use the paddle to hammer some discipline into your sorry arse."

"Bite me, Malfoy," Harry growled, then shut the door in the other boy's face. _Malfoy must really think I'm stupid, to fall for that. Paddle, right! This isn't reform school._ He turned about to see Severus sitting calmly on a silvery-gray plush sofa, sipping a cup of tea.

The Potions Master was not wearing his usual severe black attire, but was instead in a pair of comfortable black trousers and a green sleeved shirt which was open at the collar. The stone floor was covered in a thick rug with geometrical patterns woven into it in various colors. A fire crackled cheerily upon the hearth and upon the mantle, a mahogany clock with brass hands struck the hour. The fireplace was flanked by huge bookshelves with glass doors, crammed full of volumes on the right hand side and the other had many vials of potions, as well a statue of a midnight stallion with a crescent moon on his brow rearing. The statue looked extremely lifelike, and Harry gazed at it, half expecting it to burst from the cabinet , pawing and snorting into reality.

Harry's gaze fell next upon the low table in front of the couch, which was carved of fine cherrywood, it resembled a Chinese tea table, and had a tea set resting upon it, a fine silver service, with a serpent-handled tea pot and a sugar bowl and creamer with a fancy crest upon it of a coiled snake with a crown upon it. The cups matched, and so did the spoons. Steam rose from the teapot and coiled in the air.

Curious, Harry approached and picked up a spoon before he could think better of it, examining the crest.

"Another family heirloom," Severus informed his ward. "My mother was a Prince, of a very old family, descended from House Ambrosius, which was Merlin's family, and the House of Pendragon. The crest represents the wise serpent, the keeper of secrets and magic. The crown represents royalty, since the founding mother of the Prince line was Guinevere's and Arthur's daughter, Gwyneth Pendragon."

Harry sat down at Snape's invitation next to him, still holding the spoon. "So you're like royalty?"

"Once, but no more. The Prince line has deteriorated since those days, but long ago we were considered the blue bloods of the wizarding world. " Severus said dryly.

"But wasn't Arthur King of Britain? I thought he didn't have any kids."

"He was, and he didn't have a legitimate male heir, only a daughter, who abdicated her right to rule when she married the son of Merlin, a young man named Mathonwy, or Math for short. It was a match that was not planned by either of their parents, but once the two bound themselves together, it was impossible to break."

"Math? Like Math in the Welsh legends, the great wizard?" Harry clarified.

"The same. Much of Muggle legend and myths has its basis in fact in our world." Severus clarified. He pointed to the inscription beneath the crest upon the teapot. "_Tendo quod disco._ To strive and to learn. Thus runs the motto of my House. To my ancestors, nothing was so important as knowledge—of magic, of human nature, they were scholars and rulers, and once revered as masters of truth and wisdom. It is a motto I try and live up to. Tea?"

"What kind is it?"

"Oolong," answered Snape, pouring some in a cup for his ward.

Harry took it and stirred in some sugar. He took a sip and found it very tasty. "It's good."

"I have always enjoyed it." His professor said. He reached for a long green leather bound album lying on his opposite side. "You mentioned once before that you wished you had more pictures of your mother. I recently recalled having this, tucked away in a box in a trunk." He handed it to Harry.

Harry opened it, and saw that it was full of pictures of Lily. Lily as a child, swinging through the air, her face shining with laughter. Lily with her arm about a skinny dark-haired waif that Harry recognized as Severus. Another of Lily sitting among a field of flowers, the tip of her finger glowing with ambient magical energy.

Some were of Lily in her school uniform, grinning into the camera. There were several of Lily and Severus together, studying, brewing potions. Some of the pictures moved, and waved, others were ordinary photos.

Harry stared at them hungrily, trying desperately to assimilate the mother he barely recalled into his memories. His finger traced her profile, observing how her hair wasn't really a bright red, but a deep fire-touched auburn, like the last glowing embers of a banked fire. And her eyes—they were so alive, so full of joy, so brilliantly green—they made him smile and at the same time brought a sheen of tears to his eyes. He blinked them away and said reverently, "Thank you, Uncle Severus. It's . . .I can't even begin to tell you how much I . . . just to see her like this . . ."

"I am glad you like it. There are many memories here for me, and often looking at these pictures has reminded me of a time when I was young and happy. Most of my good memories, both at school and at home, come from your mother. Lily was very . . . special to me," Severus said quietly. She had been the love of his life, but he knew he couldn't tell her son that. Not yet. He was too young to understand the depth of Severus' feelings for Lily, and how it had shaped the Potions Master.

"Was this . . . my surprise?"

"Part of it." Severus answered. "The other . . . as your new guardian, it is my duty to provide you with a decent home, a place that you can feel safe and secure. So I have decided to craft a room for you. You may assist me by picking out furniture and fabrics and that sort of thing. You could sleep here on the holidays and some weekends if you chose, as I often stay at school over break to brew for the next term." And also because he disliked spending the entire holiday alone, though he would have rather been drawn and quartered than admit that to anyone. "Would that be acceptable to you, Harry?"

"My own room?" Harry repeated, somewhat dazedly. "I . . . never had a room of my own. Dudley had two rooms, but I only had the cupboard."

Severus' mouth tightened. "Your relatives were imbeciles, please do not class me with them. Everyone deserves a room of one's own. I value my privacy highly, as I'm sure you do yours. If you would like, we can shop for some things next weekend, I should be free then."

"That would be great. Thanks, Uncle Severus." Harry gave him a smile that lit up his whole face, and reminded Snape more than a little of Lily.

"Good." The Potions Master tapped his chin thoughtfully. "There was something else I wished to tell you . . . ah, yes. Madam Pomfrey wishes you to come to the Hospital Wing tomorrow morning so she can give you a few vaccinations. It seems you have missed getting inoculated against some wizarding illnesses, such as dragon pox. So be at the infirmary at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Harry made a face. "I hate shots. Do I really need them?"

Severus eyed his charge sternly. "Do I really need to answer that question?"

"No. But . . ."

"If you behave, I'll give you a lolly after," teased Snape.

Harry flushed. Now Snape thought he was a big baby, whining over a few shots. "Fine, sir. I'll be there."

Severus frowned. "Is there a reason you dislike vaccinations so much?"

"No doctor I ever had could give them without hurting me a lot." Harry admitted. "And I always seemed to get sick or develop some kind of rash whenever I got one."

"Hmm. It could be that your magic reacted badly to Muggle vaccines. Sometimes a child can be overly sensitive to certain things. But these are magical vaccines, Harry, and Madam Pomfrey knows how to administer them with a minimum of pain. However, if it would make you feel better, I can accompany you."

"You think I'm a wimp, don't you?" Harry accused suddenly.

"Fears ought to be faced," Severus answered.

"I'll be fine," Harry said, declining the offer.

Snape nodded, but secretly decided he would be in the infirmary anyway, just in case.

"Where's Skull?" Harry changed the subject, only then realizing the raven was not around.

"He is off flying about somewhere. He does not usually remain in my quarters all evening, and is free to come and go as he chooses." Severus told him.

"Oh. Will he be back soon?"

"I am not sure. Why?"

"No reason. I just like talking to him, that's all." Harry hedged.

The clock chimed nine o'clock.

"It's getting late and I assume you have homework to do?" Severus arched an eyebrow at Harry.

"Yes, I have some Charms homework to finish. And some History of Magic."

"Why don't you get started on them?"

So Harry pulled out his books from his bag and started, though he really wanted to go and search for Skullduggery. By the time he was done, he was yawning and sleepy, and ready for bed.

"Go to bed, Harry," Severus said, shaking him awake, he had dozed off over his quill.

Harry blinked and quickly put away his quill and notebooks. Then he walked towards the door, pausing before he left. "Uncle Severus, are you going to tell people that you're my guardian?"

To his surprise, Severus nodded. "Yes. We have no reason to hide it."

"All right," Harry mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Take the album, Harry. It's a poor substitute for her, but it's the best I can do," Severus told him, handing Harry the precious object.

Harry cradled it close and thanked Snape again. He bid goodnight to Severus, then walked out the door.

He was just in time to see Malfoy ducking around the corner. Harry froze, wondering if the Slytherin was planning an ambush. Spying little ferret! But he made himself walk down the corridor as if nothing were the matter. After all, Malfoy was forbidden to hex him.

Draco watched Harry leave, his fists clenched. Unknown to either Harry or Severus, Draco had overheard the last part of their conversation, since Harry had the door partially opened as he had been speaking. Malfoy had been lurking in the corridor, unable to resist taunting Potter about his detention. What he had heard almost caused him to have a coronary. _Snape was Potter's guardian! The Head of Slytherin was a Gryffindor's guardian!_ The idea was so ludicrous that if he hadn't heard it with his own ears, Malfoy would never have believed it.

Jealousy and anger surged up within the blond wizard. Bloody Potter now had the whole staff favoring him! Draco had counted upon Snape not doing so, having been told by his father than Snape had hated Harry's father when they were in school, and would be sure not to give James Potter's son any breaks. That had been true in the beginning, but ever since Halloween something had changed between his Head of House and the Boy Who Lived. Draco hadn't known what to think of Snape's change of heart . . . until now. Now it all made perfect sense.

Suddenly Draco hated Harry more than ever. It wasn't enough that he was famous, that he was Dumbledore's Golden Boy, a Glorious Gryffindor, no, now he had to subvert the Head of Slytherin as well! Snape was _Malfoy's_ Head of House, his concern ought to be with his snakes, not bloody Potter! He had no right to care about Potter. Potter was the enemy. Potter deserved to be humiliated.

Malfoy's hand closed about the pocket watch he had stolen from Harry's locker the day of the Quidditch match. He popped open the catch and glared at the smiling fiery-haired woman within. It must be Potter's mother. He remembered Lucius mentioning that she had red hair and green eyes. Eyes like her son's. Draco spat on the picture. Filthy Mudblood!

Then he threw the watch to the ground and stepped on it.

Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!

Until the face was cracked and the picture scuffed, the watch case bent and broken.

It gave him great satisfaction to destroy something that Potter valued so highly.

Draco kicked the broken watch with his foot, sending it skittering across the corridor. It bounced against the wall and then slid several feet down the hall, propelled by the force of Malfoy's jealous rage.

Two things occurred then.

Skullduggery appeared overhead, flying in from the library with a message for Severus from Madam Pince, the letter attached by a special scroll case to his leg. The noise and motion of the watch scraping across the floor drew his eye and the raven, ever curious and unable to resist shiny objects, plummeted down and snatched the watch up in his talons.

"A shiny thing!" Skullduggery crowed in delight.

Harry was almost to the dungeon stairs when he caught sight of the raven, and had turned about to call to the black bird when he heard an odd sound and then saw Skull diving and picking up something that twinkled and glistened in the light of the magical lamps. "Skull! Hey! What did you find?"

The raven circled, letting out a squawk of surprise. "Good evening, _bran-boy_!" he called. His beady eyes alight with delight at his new acquisition, and unable to resist showing off, the raven flew in front of Harry, the watch dangling from his feet. "See? Spied a shiny thing upon the floor. Mine now! Pretty!"

Harry gasped. Skullduggery had found his watch! "Hey, that's my watch!" he exclaimed, reaching for it. "Where did you find it?" He cupped the watch in his hand.

Skull landed upon Harry's arm. "Yours?"

"Yes. I lost it and have been looking all over for it." Harry told the raven. "Thank you for finding it . . ." He trailed off as he examined the watch.

To his horror, he saw it was ruined, broken and smashed, its face marred by a great crack and Lily's picture was torn and wrinkled. It was battered and bent and no longer appeared to be running.

"No! No!" Harry moaned, feeling as if someone had reached into his chest and torn out his heart. His watch . . . Severus' gift to him . . . the first gift he had ever received with his mother's picture in it . . . was destroyed. He clutched the broken watch to his chest, unable to comprehend how it had occurred, or even why it had occurred. Surely the watch itself was valuable, why would the thief destroy it? This was even worse than the watch being stolen. Then at least he had hope of recovering it. Now, looking up the wreckage of silver and crystal, he felt a deep sense of loss. It was almost, though not quite, like losing his mother all over again.

Unbidden, tears rose to his eyes and splattered down upon the shell of the timepiece.

Skullduggery made a soft sound in his throat. "Harry? Don't cry."

"I'm not," Harry said softly, trying to deny the tears that kept falling.

Further down the corridor, Malfoy watched in satisfaction. Good! He had made Potter so upset that he was crying. Like a blubbering baby! This was better than delivering the watch to Potter anonymously by owl post. The damned raven had actually done him a favor. Flush with his victory, Draco sauntered over to his rival, unable to resist commenting upon the other's loss of composure.

"Something wrong, Potter?"

Harry jerked up swiftly, and made as if to wipe his face. The watch clattered to the ground. "Mind your own business, Malfoy." He bent to retrieve the broken watch.

But Malfoy's hand closed over it first. "Lose something, Potter?" He lifted the watch from the floor. "What a piece of rubbish!"

"Give me that!" Harry shouted, yanking the watch out of Malfoy's grasp.

Their eyes met.

Harry gazed into Draco's gray eyes, eyes that were glittering with triumph and a sort of savage satisfaction. Malfoy's eyes were full of jealousy . . .jealousy and a cold calculation, almost as if Malfoy had planned this . . .Harry's intuition woke then, and all of sudden all the pieces of the puzzle came together.

"**You!**" He howled. "You did this! You stole my watch and smashed it, you bloody smug bastard!"

He saw the truth in Draco's smug gaze, in the curl of the sneer upon the aristocratic lips, and knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Slytherin was responsible for the theft and the destruction of the heirloom.

Skullduggery hissed in anger and soared off of Harry's wrist just as the furious Gryffindor drew it back, fist clenched, intending to pound Malfoy's face into the floor just the way Draco had the pocket watch.

**A/N: So sorry for keeping all of my loyal readers waiting so long, but I had thought to finish Season of Warmth sooner, as well as my gift for a friend, a new HP fic called Harry Potter and the Unspeakable. That and various illnesses and extra long days at work have kept me from updating this. Feel free to read and review them if you'd like. But now with prior commitments out of the way, I can return to this universe. **

**I know, another evil cliffy! But I'm not going to apologize, since this story just seems to lend itself to them! **

**Who will win, Draco or Harry? Or will someone else come along and break them up?**


	10. Parental Discussions

**10**

**Parental Discussions**

Harry saw red. A corner of his mind, the sensible part, was yelling that he ought to just get Professor Snape and tell him everything and let _him_ deal with bleeding Malfoy. But the irrational angry part of his mind was screaming for revenge, for Malfoy had deliberately destroyed something personal of his on purpose and had been asking for a good ass kicking for a long time now. The ruined watch flashed before his eyes and he let the red rage swamp him. "You miserable bugger!" he growled. "You had this coming for ages!"

He swung his right fist hard, having learned to throw a decent right hook thanks to Dudley, who was forever punching Harry in the face and breaking his glasses and once or twice knocking out a tooth and giving him a bloody nose.

Draco, still smug, was caught totally off guard.

Harry's fist slammed the blond boy right in the nose, hard enough to snap Malfoy's head back and make it bleed.

Malfoy staggered backwards, crying out in shock and pain. "Oww! You . . . you _hit_ me!" he exclaimed. "I'm bleeding, you rotten bugger!"

"Good. It's what you deserve for breaking my watch," Harry half-shouted, bringing up his fists to protect his face.

Malfoy tried to hit Harry back, but he had one hand covering his streaming nose and he was unused to physical violence. As the son of powerful Ministry official Lucius Malfoy, he never had to resort to fisticuffs before, that was always Crabbe and Goyle's style. He backed away, yelling, "Leave off, Potter! You're insane, trying to blame me for your stupid cheap watch breaking. Help! Crabbe! Goyle!"

There was a grim light in Harry's green eyes as he advanced upon his rival, intent on pounding Malfoy into the ground. "You're such a stinking liar, Malfoy! The one thing I couldn't figure out was how my watch managed to fall out of my sealed locker. And now I know. _You_ spelled the lock open and stole it!"

"Prove it!" Malfoy panted, still trying to stem the tide of blood with his sleeve. "You can't, 'cause that stupid raven was the one who found it right on the floor and brought it to you. Keep attacking me, Potter, and my father will be suing you for assault—"

"I'll show you assault, you pansy-arsed coward!" Harry drew back his fist again, only to feel fingers close like a steel trap about his wrist, preventing the blow from landing.

"Give it to him, Harry!" Skull cawed.

At the same time, Snape's voice, dripping with displeasure, hissed, "Potter, that will be enough! Control yourself!"

Harry froze, he had never heard that particular tone from Snape before, it spoke volumes about how peeved the professor was with him. "Sir, I can explain . . ."

"Really? I fail to see how, especially since I seem to remember forbidding you and Malfoy to get into another brawl."

"You said no dueling . . ." began Malfoy timidly, swiping at his nose, which was swollen and slowly dripping blood.

Snape fixed the Slytherin with a cold and icy glare. "Are you so dense that I must spell out that all brawling, magical or otherwise, is strictly forbidden by me and the rules of this school?" Sarcasm dripped like venom from Snape's lips.

Draco hung his head. "No, sir. But Potter started it . . . over a cheap watch that he found smashed on the floor . . ."

"It was _not_ cheap, you stuck up git!" Harry shouted. "Professor, he broke the watch . . .the one you gave me with my mum's picture in it . . ." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the smashed watch.

Severus looked down and gritted his teeth.

The watch was a sorry looking sight. The crystal was cracked and the picture ripped, the cover hanging off by a tiny hinge, bent and scraped and the cogs and gears were showing.

"Skullduggery, where did you find this?"

"Spied the shiny thing on the floor, Sev," the raven answered promptly. "Over there." He indicated further down the corridor with his sharp beak.

"I see." He fixed both boys with a look of extreme displeasure. "After the detention and discussions I had with you last time, one would think you had learned your lesson—"

"Potter went mental on me, professor!" whined Malfoy. Harry just looked at his shoes, for that much was obvious and there was little he could say to refute it. "Wait till my father hears about this . . ."

"Oh, you needn't wait for your father's return from his business trip," Snape declared coldly. "For I shall be informing your mother about this latest incident tomorrow morning, as well as the Headmaster. Now is not the time for us to debate this matter, it is late and you both have class tomorrow, as do I. We shall settle this matter tomorrow afternoon, in the Headmaster's office."

"The Headmaster's office?" Harry squeaked. In his past experience that always boded no good for him. "Why can't you just settle this, sir?"

"Because you have accused Malfoy of stealing, which is a thing this school has zero tolerance for, as well as deliberate destruction of personal property, Mr. Potter, this matter must be resolved not only by staff, but Professor Dumbledore as well. I shall tell him to call a conference between myself, as your guardian, and Lady Malfoy, as Draco's parent, and Professor McGonagall with the Headmaster mediating. That way we shall get to the bottom of this one way or another."

"But Professor . . ." whined Draco. "Look what he did to my nose."

Snape drew his wand and touched Draco's nose. _"Episkey!"_

Draco yelped as his nose suddenly healed itself. Snape handed him a handkerchief to wipe off the blood. "There! You're not going to die, Mr. Malfoy, so quit acting like it. And don't try and act all innocent, because I know the both of you are to blame for this."

When Malfoy would have opened his mouth again, Snape cut him off with a sharp, "Enough, Malfoy! Get yourself to bed, now!"

Malfoy gulped and darted Snape a half-fearful look before turning and running for the portrait hole.

Though Snape did not say so, he also wished this conference because he did not trust himself to handle the matter impartially in regards to either boy. That watch had been a family heirloom, given in remembrance to his beloved Lily's child and seeing it ruined that way made him long to use Veritaserum on Malfoy. He turned to Harry, saying quietly, "You need to get yourself to bed as well, Mr. Potter. Skullduggery, make sure he gets back to the tower safely."

Harry lifted his head and met his guardian's eyes, wincing. "Sir, wait. Could I . . . maybe . . .stay with you tonight? I won't be any trouble—"

Snape's eyebrow arched. "No, for you've already been that tonight."

"Sorry. I'll go straight to bed, promise."

"Why do you not wish to sleep with your Housemates?"

"Err . . . I just . . . won't get any sleep . . . worrying . . ." Harry dug the toe of his trainer into the floor.

"You should have thought of that before you punched out Malfoy," scolded his guardian. "How many times must I tell you, if you have a problem with another student, inform a teacher? Why did you not come to me?"

"I . . .I wasn't thinking . . . I just saw the watch and I knew that smarmy bastard—"

"Language!"

"—stole my watch and smashed it, sorry." Harry apologized. "So I lost my temper. He had no right to do that."

Snape drew a long-suffering sigh. "Harry, we shall discuss this tomorrow. Where would you sleep if I allowed you to spend the night?"

"The couch is fine. Or the floor. I don't care."

Severus scowled. "I am not going to be tripping over you in the middle of the night, boy, so the floor is not an option. Come, I shall make a bed upon the sofa, and inform Minerva that you shall be spending the night so she does not drive herself insane wondering where you are." He shepherded Harry back to his quarters with a firm hand to the small of his back.

With a wave of his wand, Snape Transfigured Harry's uniform and school robes into a pair of red and gold striped pajamas and then told Harry to go brush his teeth and make ready for bed. Harry obeyed, still feeling slightly sick to his stomach, and wondering what would happen tomorrow at the meeting. As he was brushing his teeth, he also recalled that he had an appointment with Pomfrey too and nearly groaned aloud. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day.

Meanwhile, Severus removed a thick green and silver blanket with the Slytherin crest from a trunk at the foot of his bed, along with a silver sheet and green-striped pillow and covered the sofa with them. That done, he Floo-called Minerva and told her what had occurred and that his ward would be spending the night with him. The stern witch was upset but agreed that the matter should be resolved tomorrow afternoon, allowing tempers to cool. "I love the boy dearly, Severus, but I fear you're going to have your hands full with him."

"Tell me something I don't know," drawled the other wryly.

"Good night then, Severus."

"Good night, Minerva."

He banked the fire for the night, as the dungeons were chilly. By then Harry was finished with his nightly routine and had come to stand next to the couch. "Professor? The watch . . . can it be fixed?"

Snape turned and caught the faint glimmer of tears in the child's eyes. "I believe so, but for now it must remain in its current state, so all may see what happened. Afterwards, I shall attempt to restore it. No more questions, Harry. Go to sleep."

"Yes, sir." Harry flopped down on the couch and snuggled beneath the blanket. "G'night, Uncle Severus."

"Sleep well, Harry. And remember, I shall wake you early for you need to visit the infirmary," his guardian reminded him.

Harry grimaced. "Will I be able to have breakfast?"

"Afterwards."

Harry curled up on his side and closed his eyes. Skulduggery fluttered down and perched upon the couch arm, and began to gently preen the boy's hair.

Severus remained for a moment, looking down on his ward with equal parts of exasperation and fondness. _Potter, what am I going to do with you?_ He rested a hand lightly on Harry's head before heading into his bedroom. Sleep beckoned and it had been a long day.

CICICICICI

_"It's time to rise and shine, rise and shine, and say hello to Mr. Sun!"_

Harry awoke to Skull warbling happily in his ear, sounding like an insanely happy announcer on a preschool telly show. He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. "Go 'way, Skull!"

But the raven hopped onto his shoulder and pecked the pillow, beating out a tattoo. "Get up, my son, there's work to be done. And not enough hours to do it in."

Now the raven sounded like Dumbledore.

"Skull, have mercy."

"Potter, get up this instant and quit dawdling. You have an appointment to keep."

Harry immediately sat up and pulled the pillow away from his head, expecting to see an irate Severus standing over him, arms crossed.

Instead, he saw Skull flapping and cackling, his black eyes twinkling.

"Why you . . . you tricked me!" Harry shook a finger at the unrepentant raven.

"It worked, didn't it?" Skull cawed, then perched on Harry's shoulder and began to nibble gently on the end of Harry's glasses.

"Stop it, Skull. That's the only pair I've got."

"You need a new pair," interjected Severus, coming into the room. "I'll see why the ones you ordered haven't arrived yet this morning. Hurry and get washed up." He waved his wand and Harry's pajamas became his uniform and robe again.

Harry hurried and washed, even though he was less than eager to start this day, knowing what waited at the end of it. But he knew it was no good putting off the inevitable.

Snape led him to the infirmary, where Poppy ran a quick diagnostic on him, discussed a few more supplemental potions Harry should take, then gave him three inoculations. To his surprise, they really didn't hurt, she gave him one in each arm and the last in his bottom, which was rather embarrassing, but didn't hurt either. Once that was over, she spent five minutes speaking with a harried clerk at Wizarding Occulars, who assured her that Harry's glasses would be shipped soon, there had been a delay because the occular specialist was on holiday.

After that, Severus dismissed Harry, it was quarter to eight and he was starving. He met up with Ron and Hermione in the hall.

"Where were you last night, mate?" asked Ron. "Fall asleep in the library?"

"No, on Snape's couch," he said quietly.

"Were you getting extra help and lost track of time?" asked Hermione.

"Uh . . . kind of." Harry quickly filled them in on what had happened.

Ron was livid. "I knew it! That Malfoy's such slime. I hope he gets expelled."

"Would they expel him over something like that?" Harry asked.

"Of course they would. Harry, stealing's a serious offense," Hermione pointed out. "Where's your watch now?"

"The professor has it. It's a wreck, but he says he can fix it after we have this . . .conference."

Hermione nodded. "That's good."

"I don't see why they're even bothering with a conference," Ron said angrily. "Just snap his wand and boot him out the door. One less Slytherin in the school."

"The conference is so they can get all the facts and make an impartial judgment. And make sure the parents know what their child's been up to," Hermione explained. "They had parent-teacher conferences all the time at my old school, to discuss problems kids were having and tell parents if they thought their child needed to be bumped up a form or something."

Ron rolled his eyes.

Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table, trying to see if Malfoy looked as nervous as he felt. But the Slytherin was calmly eating his breakfast, acting as if nothing was wrong. Harry wished he could feel so nonchalant, instead he felt slightly nauseous, even though he was only in trouble for slugging Draco in the nose. Frowning, he turned back to his toast, bacon, potatoes, and eggs. He managed to finish most of what was on his plate before pushing it away and trying to concentrate on his morning classes, which were Herbology and Transfiguration.

All through classes that day, Harry was distracted, worrying over what would happen during the meeting. He could barely eat lunch and in his last class, History of Magic, he spent the entire period thinking of how much trouble he was going to be in because of fighting. Though not half as much trouble as Draco was going to be in.

Skullduggery flew onto his shoulder just as class was dismissed and whispered in Harry's ear, "Remember, you have a meeting with Sev and your Head of House and Lady Malfoy in Dumbledore's office."

"Right. I'll see you there, Skull."

The raven flew off his shoulder, gliding through the air like a harbinger of doom.

Harry hitched his bag higher on his shoulder, it still contained the photo album Snape had given him last night of Lily. For some reason having it comforted him a little as he headed to the gargoyle statue and the hidden staircase. Skull fluttered overhead and spoke the password, "Sherbert lemons."

The gargoyle slid aside and Harry stepped up onto the revolving stairs and was taken up to the Headmaster's office. He knocked diffidently on the door.

"Enter," called Dumbledore.

Harry turned the knob and walked in. Dumbledore was sitting behind his large desk, surrounded by bookshelves, with the large window at the back. In front of him, in a semi-circle, were Professor McGonagall, Draco, Professor Snape, and Narcissa Malfoy. An empty chair inbetween McGonagall and Snape awaited Harry. Harry came and took his seat. Skullduggery landed on Snape's shoulder.

"Now that we are all here, we can begin this meeting," Dumbledore said, and the twinkle was absent from his eyes. "As you all know, Professor Snape contacted me this morning and asked me to call this meeting to resolve certain issues between Harry and Draco, issues which I believe started with some typical rivalry between students and Houses, but have since progressed to open hostility and now theft as well." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Severus, would you please produce the disputed item, which caused the quarrel between Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy in the dungeons last night?"

"Certainly, Headmaster." Snape drew the broken watch from his pocket and laid it upon the Headmaster's desk for all to see.

Harry flinched upon seeing it.

"Harry, Professor Snape tells me that this pocket watch belongs to you. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir. The professor gave it to me on Halloween so I could have something to remember my mum by, since I don't have any pictures of her or anything. The watch was his, I think it was a family heirloom. He put a picture of my mum inside for me."

"Why, Severus, that's very generous of you," Dumbledore exclaimed.

"It was the least I could do. The watch was a Prince heirloom, but I felt Harry had more need of it than I."

McGonagall peered at the watch. "It looks like it was a fine piece. Very expensive."

"I once had it appraised and was quoted a price of 400 Galleons." Severus informed her.

Harry gasped, he had not known just how valuable the watch was, except in terms of sentimental value.

"With a watch that expensive, one would think Mr. Potter would take better care of it," Narcissa said, looking down her nose at Harry.

Harry flushed, then said, "Mrs. Malfoy, ma'am, I did take care of it. I took it everywhere with me during school, and only took it off when I had Quidditch or a shower. The watch meant a great deal to me."

"Harry, when did you notice the watch was missing?" asked Dumbledore.

"After my last Quidditch game, sir," Harry replied. "I never wear the watch when I fly, it could fall off, so I put it inside my locker with my regular robes. But when I came back from the game to get changed, it was missing. At first I thought it just got caught in a pocket, but when I searched all over for it I couldn't find it."

"And you are certain you put it inside your locker and locked the door?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Potter, I'm curious," broke in Minerva. "Why did you not report the watch missing right away?"

"Uh . . . well, you see, Professor Snape was hurt after the match and so was I, kind of. By those . . . err . . . storm spirits. I was really concerned about him and Madam Pomfrey had him in the Hospital Wing for a few days, so I decided to wait until the professor was better before saying anything."

"Oh, yes, I see." McGonagall said.

But then Severus raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, I have been well for two days now. Why did you not tell me sooner?"

Harry swallowed and looked away. This was the question he had been dreading. "Umm . . . because I thought you'd get angry with me for losing it." Then he added swiftly, wishing to take Severus' attention away from him, "But I hadn't lost it. Draco stole it."

"How do you know it was my son that took your watch?" Narcissa asked. "It could have been anyone."

"No, ma'am. I know it was him because anyone else wouldn't have gone through my locker and taken it out. Last time when we had detention, Draco swore he'd make me pay for getting him in trouble."

"That's a lie!" Draco yelled. "Potter will say anything to make himself look good."

Before Harry could respond, Dumbledore held up a hand. "Draco, have you ever seen this watch before?"

Draco looked at the watch, hesitating for a long moment. "Yes. Potter was wearing it at his detention."

"So then you knew that Harry valued the watch."

Draco shrugged. "I guess so, sir."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Mr. Malfoy, did you sneak into the Gryffindor locker room during the Quidditch game and unlock Harry's locker and take his watch?"

Draco shook his head.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Might I remind you, Draco, that lying to cover up your misdeed will not make it any better? It is always best to tell the truth."

"I know that, sir." Draco said, calmly meeting the other's eyes.

Harry's hands clenched into fists.

"When was the next time you saw the watch, Draco?"

"Last night, on the dungeon floor." Draco said blithely.

"What condition was the watch in, Mr. Malfoy?" queried Severus suddenly. "Did it look the way it did when you first saw it?"

"Yes," Draco replied, then too late realized what he'd said. "I mean, no. It looked like that, and then your familiar picked it up and flew off with it to Potter."

Severus' eyes narrowed sharply. "Mr. Malfoy, when you saw the watch the first time, how close of a look did you get of it? Did you hold it in your hand?"

"No, sir. I just saw Potter holding it and asked what it was."

"Then, if you only got a brief glance at it, how did you recognize the watch belonged to Potter?"

Draco gulped. "Err . . .I heard him and Weasley talking about how it was missing at lunch."

"Hmmm. What has me wondering is how a watch that went missing from a Quidditch locker suddenly appeared all the way down in the dungeons, in a corridor where many students go by, and yet no one noticed it but you? Care to explain that, Mr. Malfoy?" demanded Snape.

"I don't know how it happened, Professor Snape." Draco said, squirming guiltily. "Potter was careless, that's why he lost the watch and it got stepped on and broken."

"Draco, how did you know the watch was stepped on?" asked Dumbledore.

"Umm . . . how else would it get broken like that?"

Narcissa went pale. Suddenly her hand shot out and clasped her son's wrist. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, look at me."

"Ouch! Not so hard, Mother." Draco cried, looking up at his mother.

Narcissa's eyes were bright with disapproval and shame. "Now then, young man. I have sat here and listened to you dance around the subject and fail to answer questions directly. I want a straight answer from you, and if you speak one word of an untruth to me, I shall summon a bar of soap and wash your mouth out with it just as I've done in the past. Am I clear?"

Draco dropped his eyes. "But . . . but Mother . . .!"

She shook him slightly. "Answer me."

"Yes, Mother."

"Good. Now, answer yes or no. Did you take Mr. Potter's watch?"

Draco gulped, trapped. He had never been able to lie to his mother. Somehow she always knew and whenever he tried it, he was punished just like she had described. He had learned the folly of doing so when he was five.

"Yes."

Narcissa glared at him. "Merlin's staff, why would you do such a thing?"

"Because Potter deserved it!" Draco flared. "He's the one who started with me, refusing to be my friend the first day of school, acting like he was better than everybody because he was _famous_! He thinks Slytherins are beneath him and gets special treatment from all the teachers. Potter gets to be Seeker when he broke the rules at flying class, everyone feels sorry for him because he lost his parents. Even Professor Snape, who used to hate him, feels sorry for him now and thinks he's special. He made Potter his ward." If looks could have killed, Harry would have been dead on the floor.

"Draco, I never hated Mr. Potter. Nor do I feel sorry for him. I chose to make Mr. Potter my ward for my own reasons, which are none of your business," Severus said icily.

"I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, Malfoy!" Harry snapped. "And I never asked to be famous. You acted like a stuck-up snot, that's why I didn't want to be friends with you."

"Boys!" Dumbledore cut in before the argument could escalate further. He fixed both boys with a stern glare. "Mr. Malfoy, did you also destroy Harry's watch, in addition to stealing it?"

"So what if I did? Potter doesn't deserve to have the professor as his guardian. He's a Gryffindor, what would he need with a Slytherin guardian? Potter could have any other professor in the school, he doesn't need to steal my Head of House." Draco said.

Narcissa looked like she wanted to die of shame. "Draco, how dare you speak so to the Headmaster? I didn't bring you up to act with such disrespect. Professor Dumbledore, please forgive my son's appalling lack of manners. I shall deal with him later. You have my sincere apologies for his misbehavior. I'm sure you must think me a terrible mother."

"Lady Narcissa, sometimes our children act in ways that they know are wrong. You are not responsible for the choices Draco has made. That responsibility is Draco's alone, as are the consequences." Dumbledore said gravely. "Mr. Malfoy, Hogwarts prides itself on being an institution where thievery is not tolerated. Normally, upon discovery of a thief, I would move to expel the offender. However, in your case, I would assume that your theft of Harry's watch was on impulse, was it not? You took it to get petty revenge on him for getting you in trouble and slighting you. Were you planning on returning the watch?"

"Yes, sir. I was going to send it to him anonymously by owl post in the Great Hall and see what he did. Until I found out that Professor Snape was his guardian and then I got mad." Draco admitted.

"You never intended to sell the watch?"

"No, sir."

"Because of those circumstances, I am willing to put you on probation until the end of the year. I want you to know, however, that your actions have shamed not only yourself but your House and this school. But I will give you a chance to reform yourself by doing . . .ah . . . what is the Muggle term . . ." He scratched his head. " . . .ah, community service. Is that the right trm, Harry?" Harry nodded. "So, you shall work in the library, assisting Madame Pince, her niece Lena, and Professor Snape in restoring the library for three hours on Fridays and Saturdays and any other night you happen to have free time. You shall also pay Harry the full value of the watch, since you willfully destroyed it. In addition to that, you also broke into the Gryffindor Quidditch locker room, for which Professor McGonagall shall deal with you."

"Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "For your misconduct you shall receive detention with me at seven o'clock tonight and I shall take 55 points from Slytherin for your thievery."

Draco gaped at her. "_Fifty-five points_? Professor Snape, she can't do that!"

"She can, since you have trespassed against her House," Severus said flatly. "Do not make this worse, Mr. Malfoy. I am highly displeased as it is."

"But professor, what about Potter? He punched me in the nose. Why isn't _he _getting in trouble for fighting and assault?"

"Mr. Potter will be receiving detention with me tomorrow evening and I shall take twenty-five points from Gryffindor for his instigation of a fistfight." Severus said. "I shall also speak to him privately about several things."

"Are those terms acceptable to all of you?" Dumbledore asked.

Both professors and Narcissa agreed. Dumbledore handed the watch back to Snape. Narcissa promised to send a cheque around for the amount of the watch.

"Good. Mr. Malfoy, a word of advice. Next time you are thinking about stealing, think twice. For next time I shall not be lenient. Next time I shall snap your wand. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The meeting was over, and Snape, Harry, Draco, and Narcissa returned to the dungeons, where Severus ordered Harry to go and wait in his quarters while he had a small talk with Draco and Narcissa.

Harry went, knowing full well he was in for a long lecture when Snape came back. He settled down on the sofa and took out Lily's album and started to flip through it again.

Meanwhile, back in Snape's office, both Narcissa and Severus were attempting to alleviate Draco's jealousy by explaining that Severus had a duty not just to his Slytherins, but to all students in the school.

"Draco, as your Head of House, I am supposed to show Slytherins extra attention and guidance, however that does not mean I should neglect students from other Houses," Severus began. "My duty as a professor extends towards teaching and protecting all students."

"Even Gryffindors?" Draco demanded sullenly.

"Yes. Though Gryffindors do try my patience the most, which is why I am hard on some of them, and their recklessness and impulsiveness drive me insane. And even though Harry Potter is now my ward, it does not mean I shall show him favoritism above any of my students, Slytherin or no. I shall treat Mr. Potter like any other student in class and out of it like my child, as would any professor who is a parent on staff. So there is no need for you to so jealous, Mr. Malfoy. Had you come to me before with these concerns, you could have avoided all the trouble you are now in."

Draco's bottom lip trembled. He respected Professor Snape and felt ashamed that he had let the tall man down. "I . . .I'm sorry."

"And so you should be. You also owe Mr. Potter an apology," Narcissa spoke up.

"Mother!" Draco cried.

"Don't 'mother' me, young man! Your behavior has been appalling and I cannot believe that I am saying this, but a . . .a Muggleborn knows how to behave better than you, Draco Malfoy! Now you will apologize to Potter and serve your punishment with good grace, as it is better than you deserve."

"Yes, ma'am. Are you going to tell Father?"

"He will have to know sooner or later," Narcissa sighed. "However, it can be later rather than sooner. Are you sorry for what you have done?"

"Yes . . ." Draco admitted, then added, "Sort of . . ."

"What is that supposed to mean? Have you not learned your lesson yet?" his mother demanded sharply.

"No! I have!" Draco protested.

"Yet you still blame Potter for what you have done," Narcissa stated, reading her son like a textbook. "I see you still have a long way to go before you learn that your actions are your responsibility. What have I told you before? That you make your own mistakes and then you take the consequences." She picked up Snape's ruler off his desk. "Come here."

Draco paled. "No, please! I've learned my lesson. Dumbledore already punished me."

"That does not take away from my own punishment," Narcissa said firmly. "I warned you what would happen if I were called to school again, did I not? You are lucky I'm not doing this in public, in front of your whole House, Draco Lucius Malfoy."

Draco reluctantly came to her.

Severus rose. "I shall leave you two alone, Narcissa. Send him to my quarters when you're finished, I'll be expecting him."

"Of course, Severus." Narcissa answered, taking her son over her knee.

Severus departed, as he was shutting the door, he heard Narcissa start to lecture. "I cannot believe a son of mine is a thief . . .!" followed by the sharp crack of his ruler on the seat of Draco's pants and Draco's yells. "Total disgrace to my House . . ." More swats followed.

Severus made haste to return to his quarters, where he needed to have his own discussion with Harry.

Harry was waiting with his hands clasped on his knees when Severus entered his apartment. To his surprise, the Potions Master did not look all that angry with him, but rather weary and disappointed. But somehow that made Harry feel worse than if Snape had raged at him and called him names. _That_ he could have handled, because that was how the Dursleys had always treated him. But the disappointment visible in the black eyes was something else again.

Severus said nothing at first, simply called one of the house elves to bring a tea tray and some oatmeal squares. Only after he had fixed himself a cup of tea and sipped it did he turn to his ward, who was nervously crumbling a biscuit all over his uniform.

"Stop that," Severus ordered, sighing. "You needn't act as if I'm about to take a stick to the seat of your trousers." He removed the broken watch from his pocket.

"Sorry." Harry muttered, only then realizing what a mess he had made. He began to try and pick up the crumbs.

Severus waved his hand and the crumbs vanished. He then took his wand and tapped the watch, uttering a strong Repairing charm.

To Harry's utter delight, the watch mended itself in seconds, even the torn photo, and was as good as new. He cradled the watch in his palm and smiled. "Thank you, sir! Thanks so much!"

"You are welcome. All of this fuss over a watch." Severus wagged a finger at him. "Harry, why did you not let me know as soon as the watch went missing?"

"I didn't want you to think I was . . .irresponsible or anything," Harry said, hanging his head. "I mean, I wasn't all that sure if the watch was really gone or it had just fallen out somewhere and I thought if I said it might have been stolen you wouldn't believe me. You would have said it was an excuse to cover up my own carelessness."

"Do you truly believe that?" Severus put two fingers under Harry's chin and made the boy look at him. "After what we have been through, do you truly think that I would be so callus?"

"Yes. No. I just . . . didn't want you to be disappointed in me. The way my relatives always were."

"Ah, Harry. Your relatives were impossible for you to please because they didn't see you as a child needing their approval or attention. That is not the case with me. Since getting to know you better, I now know that you are capable of being responsible and appreciative of your possessions and especially that watch. I know that you would never be careless with it because you are not a spoiled brat used to getting everything you want. Had you told me sooner, we might have been able to discover Draco's theft earlier and saved yourself a great deal of anxiety and heartache." Snape crossed one booted foot over the other and paused to take a drink of tea. "Drink your tea."

Harry did so, then asked, very quietly, "Uncle Severus? Are you still disappointed in me for not coming to you?"

"No. Not anymore. I understand where you're coming from and how difficult it can be to trust that an adult will look out for you or even believe you when you tell the truth. But I would like you to remember this, if you are truthful with me always and admit when you are wrong, you shall not have to worry about disappointing me. I will do my best to be here if you need to talk and if something like this occurs again, do not hesitate to come to me. There is no weakness in asking for help."

"Yes, Uncle." Then he added impishly, "How come you almost never ask, then?"

Severus' mouth twitched. "Because I, too, am a product of my upbringing. And a stubborn and proud Slytherin."

"Maybe you could learn to ask too . . .sometimes."

"Perhaps." Severus acknowledged. He finished off his tea and poured another cup. "As for your impulsive display of boxing in the corridor, Mr. Potter . . .let us say that I will not have a repeat of anything resembling it again, clear? You are old enough to know better and to control your temper."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't. The last thing you need is a reputation as a bully, and yes, I am aware Malfoy might have deserved what he got, nevertheless, you should exercise restraint over your emotions. That is paramount for a wizard, discipline over mind and body and emotions will help you control your magic. You have a strong talent and uncontrolled it could do great harm. So learn this lesson well. If provoked, walk away. If you can't walk away, call for a teacher. If no teacher is around, only then should you defend yourself, and try and make sure the damage is not permanent to your opponent. There is only one exception to that rule. If you're facing a monster or a dark wizard bent on taking your life, or someone in league with You-Know-Who, then you fight to the death."

"Yes, Uncle Severus. But what if it's two on one, or the student's trying to beat the crap out of me?"

"Then I shall teach you a few useful charms that will enable you to get away from them, such as a Shield Charm, a Repelling Charm and a Disarming Charm. And if anyone in this school is bullying you, you come to me immediately and I shall deal with them."

"Even if they're Slytherins?"

Severus gave him a sharp grin. "Oh, yes. My Slytherins know you are my ward, and if they have the sense God gave a mouse, they will never attempt to ambush you or harm you. Not on my watch."

Harry nodded. Hearing Snape say that made him feel safe and protected, as he never had before. He picked up a biscuit and ate it, then another one, until Severus told him to stop, he'd spoil his dinner.

Harry rolled his eyes, but stopped eating them. Then he finished his tea. "Severus?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Would you mind if I . . . took a little nap before dinner? I'm sort of tired and achy."

Severus put a hand on his forehead. "No fever. Perhaps it's a reaction the vaccines you had earlier. Yes, you may have a lie down, but wait a moment. Mr. Malfoy will be stopping by and he has something to tell you."

"Like what?" Harry couldn't fathom what Malfoy could possibly have to say to him.

But he got his answer a moment later, when there came a knock on the door. Snape opened it and Draco walked in, somewhat stiffly. He came straight up to Harry and said, "I've come to apologize, Potter, for stealing your watch and breaking it. It was wrong." He held out a hand.

Harry froze. This was the last thing he had expected. He slowly gripped the other's hand, not sure if he trusted Malfoy's sincerity, but willing to give the other the benefit of the doubt. "Apology accepted, Malfoy."

Draco's lip curled slightly in a sneer, but his eyes looked . . .relieved. Or so Harry thought.

"I . . . have to go. Homework," the other muttered.

Then he retreated out the door, but not before Skull fired a parting salvo.

"Don't let the door hit you in the arse on your way out, Malfoy! Rrwa-a-a-k!"

The door slammed and Harry tittered.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Skullduggery, must you have a comment for everything?"

"Of course, Sev. I _am_ a raven, and ravens always have the last word." He began to preen his long glossy tail feathers. "Did you know, that when they still had executions back in the Tower, during the time of old Harry VIII, we used to comfort the condemned by telling them jokes while the headsman swung the axe? It made them more . . . at ease. It was sort of like a good public service deed. Why, when my great-grandmama lived in the Tower, Queen Anne Boleyn went to the block and she told her not to worry, between one blink and the next she would see God. Very comforting, no?"

"Is that true?" Harry whispered to his guardian.

"Possibly. He has never truly lied, though he has been known to embroider the truth when it serves him." Severus admitted, scratching the raven gently.

Skull nipped him playfully. "It's true! Ravens carry the souls of the slain to the Land of the Dead, especially those who have died untimely, and then the Angel of Death comes to take them away."

"They do?"

"So my mother told me," replied the raven primly.

"Enough, Skullduggery. You'll give him nightmares."

The raven giggled. "Oh, I doubt that. Don't you know anything about kids his age? They love to be scared silly. Right, Harry?"

"Right," Harry said quickly, though he wondered if he would dream about ravens carrying his parents' souls to the Land of the Dead when he took his nap.

CICICICICI

Harry woke in time for supper in the Great Hall, having slept without any nightmares. He accompanied Snape to the Great Hall, where they separated, Harry going to sit with his friends at the Gryffindor table and Snape going to sit at the staff table in his usual spot between Minerva and Flitwick.

Severus was just about to eat a forkful of his cranberry walnut salad when Dumbledore cleared his throat and tapped his goblet lightly. "Attention, please!" he said, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the din of students. "I have a short announcement to make."

Severus froze with the fork halfway to his mouth. _Please, by all that is good on the earth, let him not do what I think he's about to do._

All the professors looked up.

"It is my great pleasure to announce that we now have a parent on staff again." The old wizard went on, oblivious to the death glares Snape was shooting at him.

"We do?"

"Who's that?" asked Sprout. "Have we hired a new teacher?"

"No, but one of our Heads has recently adopted a son. Congratulations, Severus! You're now the surrogate father of our very own Harry Potter. Isn't it wonderful?"

Everyone froze.

Severus' fork fell to his plate with a clatter. Flushing, he picked it up, and met the somewhat shocked glances of his colleagues.

"Oh, my! Severus, who would have thought you'd had it in you?" gasped Pomona. "Oh, dear. That didn't come out right at all. I'm so sorry."

"Never mind, Pomona. I'm sure it will take getting used to, that the great dungeon bat is now Potter's legal guardian." Severus said dryly.

"I say, when did that happen?" muttered Quirrell. "Must have missed something."

"What made you decide to take the plunge, Snape?" asked Flitwick.

"Potter needed a guardian and someone to keep him out of trouble." Severus answered shortly, vowing to spike Dumbledore's sherbert lemons with a laxative potion someday soon.

"Well, I think it's wonderful!" gushed Poppy. "Harry has always needed a male influence."

"Yes, though you had better not try and steal my Seeker, Severus," Minerva joked.

"And take away your only star player?" drawled the other wickedly. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Minerva's eyes flashed. "Don't get cocky, Severus. My team is bursting with talent."

"We'll see about that." Severus chuckled. He took a large gulp of wine from his goblet, wishing it were not forbidden to get drunk while at school. He could feel all the eyes of the students suddenly zeroing in on him.

When he looked up to see why the sudden interest, he saw several owls making their way about the hall carrying the evening edition of The Daily Prophet in their talons and beaks. One stopped and dropped a copy off at his place and he unrolled it.

Smack in the middle of the front page was the following headline.

**Potions Professor Becomes Guardian to Boy Who Lived! **

Severus set down the paper and muttered, "Bloody hell!" before defiantly picking up his fork and beginning to eat his salad. He'd be damned if he'd let the gossip-mongers ruin his appetite.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry was also doing his best to ignore all the whispers and gasps and just eat his supper. He was hungry and not in the mood to field questions about his unorthodox guardian just yet. So he dug into his baked beans, ham, and corn, ignoring the glances and so forth until there came a thud and he looked up.

Neville had fallen off his bench, a dazed expression on his face.

Harry groaned. _Why me? Why can't someone else ever get the publicity, like Malfoy for stealing my watch? Is that too much to ask?_

**A/N: I apologize for the long wait inbetween updates but I went away on vacation to Harry Potter World and when I came back ended up getting a very bad ENT (ear, nose, & throat) infection which is still clearing up and I couldn't write for several days. But I've finally updated and I thank everyone who is reading, reviewing and favoriting this story for their patience.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please drop me a few words to let me know what part you liked best so I know people are still following this. I shall try to update faster as RL allows.**


	11. Backlash

**11**

**Backlash**

Harry shook out his hand, it was cramped from holding a quill for two hours while he struggled to write his detention essay for Professor Snape. Before that, Severus had made him chop up some lizard livers, used in certain potions of alteration and changing. That had been gross, but he could bear it. The essay was something else again. Snape had required him to write two feet of parchment on how he should have handled the altercation with Malfoy, or anyone who attempted to harm him physically or magically. The problem wasn't listing or writing the content, Snape had given him the answers he expected last night. The problem was that he had terrible penmanship and he kept getting distracted thinking about the way people had reacted to that blasted tell-all article in the Prophet.

Neville half-fainting in shock had been the least of it.

Most of his yearmates had looked at him as if he'd gone insane, and one tall lanky fifth year had asked when Harry was going to start eating at the Slytherin table, since he seemed to fancy serpents so much? Harry had ignored that taunt, but others in his House cast him looks of disapproval and shock and anger, making him feel sick to his stomach. He had tried to eat some more, but the food stuck in his throat, and he finally set down his fork and said, "What does it matter to all of you who my guardian is?"

"Because you're a Gryffindor and he's the Head of Slytherin," murmured several.

Harry had looked at them quizzically. "And that matters how? If he's willing to take me in and I'm willing, why should it matter?"

"Well, because it's Snape!"

"How could you let the greasy git have authority over you like that?"

"All Slytherins are followers of You-Know-Who."

"Does this mean you're gonna be friends with Malfoy next?"

"No, of course not!" Harry had gasped. "I can't stand him. He's a stuck up prat!" He stood up then to help Neville because no one else seemed like they were going to, and he wanted to avoid all the stares and so forth he was getting from everyone, but especially from his own Housemates. "Neville, are you all right?"

Neville nodded sheepishly. "I'm always tripping and falling, Harry. Don't worry, I'm not hurt." He took the hand Harry held out to him, then asked softly, "But Harry . . . you're not afraid with Snape as your guardian?"

"No. He saved my life, Neville. With the troll and the storm spirits."

"Oh, well, he seems so . . .err . . . strict and everything . . ."

"Maybe, but just between you and me, Longbottom, my relatives were worse."

Neville looked dumbfounded. "They . . . _were_?"

"Yeah. They hate magic and wizards. I never really belonged there. But with Snape it's different. He came to me and chose me. So at least I know one thing—that he wants me."

Neville nodded. "I guess that's good, Harry. But he scares me to pieces when he glares at me."

"Wanna know another secret?" Harry asked. "His bark's worse than his bite." He then resumed his place and tried to ignore the mutterings of his Housemates. Poor timid Neville! Yes, Snape could be intimidating, but Neville must be really sheltered if he thought Snape was the worst that was out there, Harry thought. Neville wouldn't have lasted a week with Vernon, Petunia, or Dudley. Especially Dudley. Harry reached into his pocket and clasped his watch, then tried to force down another mouthful of food.

He had been hungry before, but now his appetite had waned, as the atmosphere around him changed from shock and disbelief to something more hostile.

"If you have Snape as a guardian, why aren't you a Slytherin?" demanded the obnoxious boy who had spoken before. "Because only another viper would choose him."

Harry glared at the other boy, whose name he didn't remember. "The Hat chose to put me in Gryffindor." _Because I asked it to. Maybe I shouldn't have._

"Oh, Potter." An older girl sighed dramatically. "Slytherin and Gryffindor . . . it's just not done."

Hermione rolled her eyes at that. "Apparently it is, Lara. Because they've just done it."

"Maybe _that's_ how he survived the Killing Curse as a baby," remarked the obnoxious fifth year again. "Because he made a deal with You-Know-Who!"

Harry stood up, his fists clenched. "That's ridiculous! I could barely _talk_ back then, you stupid—"

Percy cut in. "Potter, sit down. Craven, you're out of line. In case you've forgotten, Potter _survived_ the Killing Curse, if You-Know-Who was going to subvert him, he would have taken him away, not tried to kill him. Don't be more of an ass than you already are. The Hat doesn't make mistakes, Harry belongs in Gryffindor, like his parents. Having Professor Snape as his guardian changes none of that. We all know Snape looks out for him. This is just more of the same, and a good thing too, else Potter wouldn't be here right now being forced to listen to idiots like you. Furthermore, I don't see why it's any of your business what goes on in Potter's personal life. Unless you're his biographer?" That got snickers from some of the Gryffindors. "Now, everyone shut your mouth and eat, the subject is closed."

It wasn't, but the muttering did subside and now some of them were giving Percy nasty glares too and more than a few were growling that Weasley was becoming too high-and-mighty, but not even Craven dared cross Percy.

Harry was shocked, but grateful for his prefect's intervention. He had always assumed Percy didn't care all that much for him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Percy answered, then went calmly back to eating.

Ron was looking at Percy as if at a stranger. "Wow! First time he's ever done _that_!"

The twins snorted. "He just likes to have the last word." Fred remarked.

Harry eyed them warily, wondering if they were going to turn on him too. But George gave him a quirky grin and said, "Old Snape's all right. If you're fine with it, Harry, than that's all right by us."

Harry smiled. At least the Weasleys were supporting him. He managed to eat a forkful of his supper.

"So, what happened at the meeting, Harry?" Hermione asked then.

"Yeah. Did Malfoy get his wand snapped?" Ron asked.

"No. But he did get put on probation and he has to pay me back for breaking the watch and his mum was really steamed at him," Harry told them. "And so was Professor Snape. McGongall took points and gave him detention too."

"Good! For once the prat gets what he deserves." Ron said with a satisfied smirk.

Harry nodded. "But I have detention too, for punching Malfoy out, tomorrow night."

"With who?" Ron muttered.

"My new guardian."

Ron winced. "Oh. Sucks for you then."

_In more ways than one,_ Harry sighed, pushing the food about on his plate and praying Snape wasn't watching him right then. . . .

Harry jerked out of his reverie with a start and came back to himself, as Severus's hand closed over his shoulder. He looked up.

The Potions Master was frowning, clearly displeased. "Daydreaming, Mr. Potter? That won't help you write any faster."

Harry dropped his eyes. "No, sir. Sorry. I . . . got distracted."

"I could tell. Keep writing, or else you'll be here all night," was all Snape said, then he withdrew to his desk to finish marking homework.

Harry groaned to himself and picked up his quill.

When he finally stumbled out of Snape's classroom it was half-past nine, and he was tired, but didn't feel like asking if he could stay with his guardian. He figured if he went and slept upstairs with the other Gryffindors, it would show them that he was still one of them, despite the Head of Slytherin being his guardian.

When he arrived in the Gryffindor common room, Ron was playing chess with Dean, and decimating him, and Hermione was studying, as usual. Both of them greeted Harry with friendly smiles, though a few others glanced up and then looked away, and Harry heard at least one muttered, "Traitor!"

Flushing, he started to make his way upstairs, when he heard Oliver Wood call, "Practice at 3 on Thursday, Potter!"

"I'll be there, Wood," Harry answered, and was thankful that Snape had his Nimbus in his quarters, Harry didn't trust someone not to try something with his broom, given the way people were reacting to the guardianship. _Why can't they just bloody leave me alone?_ He wondered irritably. Funny, how no one had a problem back on Halloween when Snape saved him from the troll, but suddenly Harry was betraying Gryffindor by allowing Snape to be his guardian. People were so dumb sometimes! He stalked upstairs and entered his dormitory, which he shared with the four other first year boys—Ron, Dean, Neville, and Seamus.

He stopped dead and stared.

His bed hangings were shredded and torn and a large sign still dripping a viscous green paint had been hung across what remained of them. Paint the color of swamp foliage was sloshed all over his bed, coating the sheets, pillows, and duvet.

The sign read: **Slytherin Lover Go Home!**

His trunk had been battered and a crude representation of a snake painted all over it. They couldn't get into it because he had Severus show him a strong Locking Charm, and it repelled the standard Unlocking Charms.

He looked around, hurt and angry. But no one else's bed had been touched, only his. _I don't believe this! Who the hell could have done this?_ He had been the victim of cruelty like this before, Dudley had ripped apart his bed once at home, after the letters came and he had been moved upstairs to the second bedroom. Dudley and his friend Piers had slashed his sagging mattress and tied his sheets together and thrown water all over it. And Harry couldn't even complain to Aunt Petunia, because he knew Dudley would lie and say he didn't do anything and Harry was just a lazy slob. He had thought he was free of that sort of persecution at Hogwarts.

A vein in his temple started to throb and he suddenly had a headache. His grasp on his bookbag slipped and it hit the floor with a thud beside him. He didn't know how he was going to clean up the paint, he didn't know any spells that removed it from cloth. So he simply stood there, staring at his wrecked bed, his green eyes burning with the injustice of it all.

Until he heard Ron say from behind him, "Harry? Why are you just standing in the middle of the floor like—bloody hell! Who did that to your _bed_?"

Harry turned. "I don't know. When I came up here, I found it like this."

"Aww, Merlin!" Ron shook his head. "Whoever did it is a real git! Look, let me get Percy. He'll know how to get the paint off and everything." He quickly ran down the stairs to find his brother.

Percy was livid when he saw what had been done. "All right, now I've had enough! I'm going to call a meeting tonight, speaking to everyone except you, Harry, and we're going to get this nonsense stopped for good and all. Otherwise I'm informing McGonagall about this, and she'll put the whole House on restriction until the culprit comes forward." He cast a few Cleaning charms and soon Harry's bed and trunk looked normal again. He removed the sign from the bed and tore it in two, shaking his head in disgust. "All right, Potter, you can go to sleep."

Harry got undressed and into bed, carefully examining the bed and beneath it before he got into it. Ron told him good night before heading back downstairs for the meeting. Harry tossed and turned, he fancied he could still smell the wet paint even though it was vanished from the bed. He was tired, but on edge, and he couldn't sleep. He felt uneasy and uncomfortable, his private space had been violated and he no longer felt safe in his room. He tried to fall asleep, but every time he dozed off, he would hear a scuffle or a thump and wake up, fearing some new mischief was about to be played on him.

An hour passed, and finally he heard Ron and the other boys coming up the stairs.

"Harry? You still awake?" Ron hissed.

Harry sat up. "Hey. Did they find out who did it?"

"Afraid not. No one would admit it, but Percy told everyone off and said that if anything like this happens again, we're all on suspension from McGonagall. He said you were to be left alone or else. And I think he put charms on our door so only we can go in and out. Well, besides him and McGonagall."

"Oh. I guess that's good," Harry murmured, though he still didn't feel safe.

"I'll bet it was that arse Craven, but without proof, Percy can't do anything to him," Ron sighed, yawning. "Well, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

Soon the room was filled with the soft snores and breathing of his dorm mates, and Harry flopped over on his stomach and tried to sleep. But sleep wouldn't come and finally he gave up trying. He knew he needed sleep, otherwise he would be a zombie during tomorrow's classes, one of which was potions, and he didn't dare risk that. There was no help for it. He knew of only one place where he felt safe and protected, and that was Snape's quarters. He grabbed his pillow and his bookbag, which he had placed by his bed, lit up his wand and took a uniform and clean robe out of his trunk, and stuffed them in his bag. Then he tied the laces of his shoes together, slung them about his neck, and crept like a ghost out of Gryffindor Tower.

It was almost eleven o'clock, way past curfew for first years, but Harry didn't care. He made his way quietly down the staircases to the dungeons, where he paused for breath beside the potions classroom. The halls were dim and dark, with only single lamps on either side to light his way.

As he leaned against the cool stone wall, panting slightly from his mad dash down from Gryffindor Tower, he heard voices coming from the potions classroom. Puzzled, he didn't think Snape was still up brewing, Harry peeked about the door frame.

There stood Marcus Flint, Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and prefect, and four other tall Slytherin boys, looking to be about fifth or sixth year, surrounding Malfoy, who was giving them a look of pure bravado and defiance. Flint glared at the blond boy angrily.

"You just had to go and nick Potter's watch, didn't you, Malfoy?" the prefect growled. "Now look what your bloody sticky fingers have cost us. _Seventy-five_ points, plus another black mark against the House! Now we have thievery added to our reputation. Didn't I tell you last time to leave bloody Potter alone? Seems like you have a short memory, Malfoy."

"What's it matter to you, Flint, if I'm mean to Potter?"

"It matters because your actions reflect on all of us Slytherins," answered one of the others.

"And now Potter's off limits because he's Snape's ward," added a dark-haired boy with blue eyes.

"We don't like thieves either," sneered a blond with spiky hair.

"'Specially thieves stupid enough to get caught and cost us points and make us lose face. Bad form, Malfoy!" snapped the tallest of them, he was even taller than Flint, but not as broad.

"Very bad form," Flint agreed. "I warned you what would happen if you kept on making us look bad."

Malfoy looked uneasy. "You . . . you can't do anything to me . . . Dumbledore's already put me on probation . . ."

Flint snorted. "Ha! Like that'll teach you anything. Dumbledore's a pansy when it comes to dishing out real punishments. Me, on the other hand, knows just what a snot like you needs. Hold out your hands."

"No!" Draco started to back away.

But the tall boy and the blue-eyed one grabbed him and held him fast, spread-eagling Malfoy.

"Get off me!" Malfoy shrieked.

"_Silencio!"_ cried the third one and suddenly Malfoy's voice was gone.

Harry watched, trembling, as Flint proceeded to cast a spell that enlarged Malfoy's hands till they were the size of a gorilla's. Then he hung a wooden placard about Malfoy's neck that read _I am a thief and a disgrace!_ Lastly, he looped a large length of cord about the other boy's wrists, tying them together so Draco's hands were palms up and in front of him.

Silent tears were running down Malfoy's face and one of the other boys cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Stop sniveling, you mama's boy!"

"Let's go, Malfoy. You can stand on the Platform of Shame for half-an-hour tonight and tomorrow night, so everyone in the House can see you." Flint said coldly. He took the other end of the rope and prepared to march Draco from the classroom.

Abruptly, Harry ducked out of sight. He scurried past the classroom and around the corner to Snape's door and tapped on it, praying that the professor wasn't asleep yet. He wasn't sure if he felt sorry for Malfoy or not, seeing how the Slytherins treated him. Plainly they were very upset at the way the blond had been acting and were not hesitant about making an example of the arrogant youngling.

Harry had his hand raised to knock again when the door was yanked open, and a rather annoyed professor stood scowling down at him, in his night robe and leather slippers. Skull was perched on his shoulder. "This had better be an emergency—Harry, what are you doing down here at this hour? Why aren't you asleep in your bed?" He raised an eyebrow at his ward's appearance—Harry looked like a refugee, with his hair all mussed, his bulging bag slung over his shoulder, pillow rolled up under his arm, and his shoes hanging about his neck.

"Sir . . . can I sleep down here?" asked Harry in a very soft voice. "Please?"

"For the love of Merlin, boy!" the exasperated professor snapped. "Come in then." He was not in a very good mood, mainly because he kept getting interrupted by owls bearing various complaints and hate mail over his decision to make Harry his ward. Clearly, there were some in the wizarding world that did not think a Slytherin former suspected Death Eater should have custody over the Boy Who Lived.

Just as Harry stepped forward, a large barred owl flew into the room, holding an ominous red envelope in its beak.

Skullduggery squawked and attacked the other bird. "Out! Out, you harbinger of bad news! How dare you bring my master a Howler?" He began to peck the owl about the shoulders and head.

"Skullduggery, don't kill the messenger!" yelled Snape. "Just let him deliver the bloody thing!" He snatched the Howler from the harried owl.

The owl hooted in anger, but turned and fled, not wishing to fight the angry raven, whose beak was as sharp and lethal as a sword.

Snape slammed the door shut as soon as the owl flew out of it, almost catching his tail feathers.

Skull hissed and called insults at the closed door in about a dozen different languages.

Severus waved a hand and cast a Silencing charm over the room, so no one could hear the Howler, except for himself and Harry.

Harry had sat down on the sofa and was eying the red envelope uneasily. "Sir? What's a Howler?"

"A bloody damn nuisance," answered Severus, just before the Howler went off.

"SNAPE—

YOU PATHETIC GREASY EXCUSE FOR A WIZARD! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WOULD GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO RAISE A CHILD, ESPECIALLY THE CHILD OF MY BEST FRIEND! YOU'RE A SLYTHERIN AND AS DARK AS THEY COME, YOU HAVEN'T ANY BUSINESS TRYING TO PRETEND YOU CARE ABOUT JAMES' SON, EVERYONE KNOWS YOU HATED EACH OTHER IN SCHOOL! WHO DID YOU CON TO LET FILTH LIKE YOU BECOME GUARDIAN OF HARRY POTTER? YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU, SNAPE! YOU MIGHT HAVE HOODWINKED DUMBLEDORE, BUT I KNOW YOU FOR WHAT YOU REALLY ARE—A DEVIOUS, CUNNING, HEARTLESS BASTARD WHOSE ONLY LOVE IS CAULDRONS AND THE DARK ARTS! LILY WAS RIGHT TO BREAK IT OFF WITH YOU, YOU ROTTEN—"

_"Enough!"_

Harry winced, both at the sheer volume of the screaming letter and Snape's obvious fury.

Snape aimed his wand at the screaming envelope.

"_Reducto!_"

The Howler exploded into confetti, drifting down to lie in a shredded heap on the carpet.

"Take that, you harridan!" Skull screeched and stuck out his tongue at the destroyed Howler.

Harry cautiously uncovered his ears, for the author of the letter had a voice like a banshee, shrill and penetrating, it had made his ears ring. He whistled softly. "Who was _that_ from, Uncle Severus?"

Snape grimaced, and fed the remains of the Howler to the fire on the hearth. "An old schoolmate of mine. I believe that was Mary MacDonald, she was in Gryffindor and considered herself one of your mother's best friends, though I don't think Lily really cared all that much for her. Apparently she felt the need to tell me off as well for taking you as my ward."

Harry winced. "Uh . . . she sounded really peeved. Have you been getting a lot of those, sir?"

"This is the first. But I doubt it shall be the last." Severus sat down on the sofa next to him, looking weary. "I had expected some difference of opinion from ignorant people, but plainly ignorance and stupidity reign supreme for now."

"I'm sorry. Maybe we should have kept it a secret."

"Why? Are you ashamed to call me your guardian?" demanded Severus testily.

"Me? No, of course not!" Harry cried. "It's just that . . . look at all the trouble it's caused . . . for both of us . . ."

"Both of us?" repeated the professor, eying Harry suspiciously. "Am I to assume you're down here to hide from popular opinion as well?"

"Err . . ." Harry dug his slipper into the carpet. "Sort of."

"Explain, please. But be brief."

"Yessir. You see . . ." Harry told him what had happened. " . . . and I just didn't feel safe anymore, so I thought maybe I could sleep down here, just for tonight."

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, then said, "Harry, you may stay tonight, but bullies like this Craven fellow need to be faced, sooner or later. I shall cast some protective charms over your belongings and your room, but unless it's a weekend, you really should spend the nights in your room with your Housemates. Running away solves nothing, except to convince whoever did this to you that he's getting to you. Have you told McGonagall what happened?"

"No. Percy was going to . . . I think." Harry bit his lip.

"I see. Then not all your Housemates agree that you're a traitor?"

"No. Neville doesn't, and neither do the Weasleys, Hermione, or the Quidditch team. But they're the only ones who don't think I'm nuts or whatever." Harry made a face. "It's not fair! Why are people so stupid?"

"Stupid is as stupid does," Skull cawed, landing on Harry's shoulder and preening his hair. "Hello, bran-boy!"

Harry smiled at the raven and gently stroked his glossy feathers. "Hi, Skull! How are you doing?"

"Fair to middling. Want to hear a lullaby?"

Harry blushed. "Umm . . . I'm a little old for that, Skull."

"Are not!" argued the raven, then he began to sing, "_Hush, little baby, don't say a word—Uncle Sevvy's gonna buy you a sweet blackbird—"_

Harry gaped. "Uh, Skull—isn't it a mockingbird?"

The raven turned and clicked his beak. "Not in _my_ version, _bran-boy_. Now hush!" He resumed singing. "_If that lil' blackbird don't sing, Uncle Sevvy's gonna buy you a diamond ring, if that diamond ring gets stole, Uncle Sevvy's gonna give you a pot of gold . . ."_ The raven's voice was low and soothing, and sang, much to Harry's amusement, in Severus' familiar haunting tones.

"Incorrigible bird!" scolded Severus. "By all rights I ought to pluck you and bake you in a pie."

Skull eyed his wizard and crooned, "But you have the most be-yoo-tiful voice!"

"Skullduggery," warned Snape.

Harry started laughing softly.

"He has no appreciation for music!" huffed the raven, turning his back to the Potions Master.

"Now you've hurt his feelings," Harry said.

"He'll get over it. He has an ego the size of a glacier," snorted Severus.

"Why do people hate the fact that a Slytherin is my guardian? I mean, I know your House was where _he_ came from, but still . . . why can't people just forget about all that and judge you by your actions? I mean, you saved my life twice, why would you want to hurt me or make me into a dark wizard?"

"Because ignorance breeds fear and it is far easier for people to fear than to admit that they are wrong. I have made mistakes in the past, but have done what I can to rectify them. But for some, like that hag MacDonald, nothing I do will ever be enough. They will not forgive and they will never let anyone forget."

"She sounded like a real b—"

"Mr. Potter, watch your language!"

"What? I didn't say it."

"It was on the tip of your tongue, you can't deny it. And while it may be so, saying it changes nothing. There will always be people like her and Craven in the world and all you can do is ignore them. Arguing only fuels their hatred and determination to tear you down. People believe what they wish to believe, not the truth that stares them in the face. I could sacrifice myself for you today and still MacDonald would believe I had done so for my own selfish reasons. It is a battle that I cannot win and so I choose not to fight it. I know the truth and so do you. If they cannot see it, they are fools."

"So what are you going to do about the letters?"

"Burn them or shred them. They make great kindling for a fire."

"But don't you care what they're saying about you?" Harry asked indignantly.

"No. Not anymore. I have heard worse, child. Nothing they can say about me means any more than an infant babbling, it's a lot of noise over nothing. Does it bother you?"

"Yes." Harry admitted.

Severus put an arm about him. "Try not to let it. In a few weeks something else will grab people's attention and they'll forget all about us. Are you going to let a few loud-mouthed ignoramuses tell you what to do?"

Harry shook his head, leaning into the other's embrace. "Never, Uncle Severus. They can kiss my arse."

"_Harry_."

"Sorry."

"It's getting late. You need sleep, not enough of it breeds catastrophies, especially in potions. We'll continue this discussion later. But I wish you to remember two things—come to me if someone is harassing you and two, if you need to, I am always willing to lend an ear." He shifted slightly, looking down at the dark head pillowed on his shoulder fondly. "Or a shoulder."

"Mmm . . ." Harry had his face buried in Snape's robe, halfway into the realm of dreams.

Skullduggery fluttered over to perch on the back of the sofa.

Severus remained there for awhile, until the boy's breathing had evened out and only then did he gently place Harry on the sofa, put his pillow under his head, and cover him with a Slytherin blanket. He rested one long-finger hand atop Harry's head for a brief instant. "Together, youngling, we shall get through this. Even if I have to snap wands and take names."

"Right on, Sev!" croaked the raven, his beady eyes gleaming.

"Keep watch, Skull," admonished the Potions Master, then he made his way to his own bed, and dreamed of incinerating thousands of Howlers screaming that he was an unfit guardian.

**I apologize for the late update, but Easter is a busy time for me and my family. **


	12. The Cursed Envelope

**12**

**The Cursed Envelope**

**A/N: Family problems prevented me from posting sooner, as did another holiday fic I was working on. I hope the pacing of this story is not boring anyone.**

Harry woke the next morning feeling refreshed and dressed quickly in his uniform and robes. He would have preferred to stay in Snape's quarters and have breakfast with the Potions Master and Skull, but Severus would have none of it. "You are going to eat breakfast with your friends and Housemates just as you have done since you arrived here. Hiding in here will not help your situation, merely add more fuel to the gossip mill. Certain people already think I chain misbehaving students to the wall of my dungeon by their wrists, there's no telling what they will think if they don't see you at breakfast, Mr. Potter."

"Do you?" Harry dared to ask saucily.

"Only when they have pushed me past all tolerance," his guardian snorted. "Come here. Your tie is crooked."

"I don't really know how to tie it," admitted the small Gryffindor.

Severus sighed. "Your uncle never showed you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Uncle Severus."

"Watch." Severus removed the red and gold tie and demonstrated.

"Oh. I see now . . . I think."

Severus repeated the lesson, then handed the tie to his student. "Your turn."

Harry fumbled a bit, but managed to get the tie to knot. It wasn't really hard once he memorized the steps. He untied it and put it about his neck, retying it. "How's that, sir?"

"Adequate." Severus straightened Harry's robes and ran his wand down them, getting all the creases and dust off them. He examined his ward. "Presentable. Except for your hair."

"My hair? What's wrong with it?"

"It looks like birds have nested in it."

"Err . . . well . . .Skull did sleep on my head last night."

Professor Snape shook his head and Summoned a brush. "Hold still." He carefully ran the brush through the boy's untidy locks.

"Professor, I can comb my own hair!" His ward objected, squirming in embarrassment.

"Be still!" growled the other, using a charm to make Harry's cowlick lie flat. "There! Much better! Collect your bag and let us go to the hall."

Snape waited while Harry went and got his bag, Skull perched on his shoulder.

Harry was a bit annoyed at his guardian's fussing over his appearance, but then supposed it meant that Snape cared about him. He got a warm glow somewhere in the pit of his stomach at that thought. He recalled Petunia always fussing over Dudley every morning before school, but she hadn't bothered to so much as look at Harry. At least Snape made sure he looked decent, even if it was embarrassing to have his hair combed like a two-year-old's. He grabbed his bag and headed back to where Snape waited.

As they emerged from the dungeon, a few Slytherins greeted their Head of House, eyeing Harry curiously, but without animosity.

"Morning, Potter!" Blaise Zabini called over his shoulder. He was a slender boy with dark hair and eyes, clearly of Italian descent.

"Hey, Zabini," Harry waved back shyly. He had not expected any of the Slytherins to speak to him, and was happy that Zabini wasn't being a total drip. Unlike Malfoy.

Skull took wing off Snape's shoulder and flew on ahead to the hall, where he assumed his usual station upon the back of the professor's chair at the staff table.

"Hello, Skull!" Lena smiled at the large raven.

"Good morning, Lady Rook," said the raven, bobbing his head in a gesture of respect.

Lena looked astonished, but before she could ask the raven anything further, Severus took his seat beside her.

"Lady Rook?" Severus raised an eyebrow, then said very softly, "You are a member of the Society, Lena?"

The other nodded discreetly. "Since I came of age. My mother inducted me into it. You also?"

The professor gave a tiny nod. He then stirred some milk into his morning cup of tea and sipped it. He was not surprised at the young woman's admission. She was exactly the sort the Society recruited. He tapped the side of his plate and said quietly, "Poached eggs, bacon, toast." The food he had requested popped up on his plate.

"You forgot my red grapes," his familiar reminded.

"My apologies," Severus then asked for a bunch of red grapes. When they appeared, Skull walked onto his arms and ate them daintily from Severus' fingers. Like all his kind, Skullduggery could eat anything. Once he had his fill of the grapes, the irrepressible bird snitched bacon off Snape's plate.

Snape shot his familiar a pointed look. "Just when I think you've learned some manners," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"What? I'm hungry," Skull replied.

"Behave," ordered his master wearily. He began to eat his eggs.

Lena concealed a grin behind her napkin. The bold raven made her want to laugh out loud, but mindful of her seatmate's dignity, she restrained herself. She then winked at the raven, who gave a playful caw, then proceeded to fly over to Dumbledore and drink from the Headmaster's water glass.

Familiar with the raven's antics, the rest of the staff ignored him, for which Snape was quite thankful.

Down at the Gryffindor table, Harry was being pelted with questions from Ron and Hermione. He had just poured himself a glass of orange juice and the familiar vial of Nutrient Suppliment had appeared next to his plate, when his friends barraged him.

"Harry, where were you this morning?" asked Ron.

"Harry, did you finish the homework in Charms yet?" Hermione wanted to know

Harry debated on whether to admit the truth to Ron, then decided to be truthful. He didn't like lying to his friends. "I . . . after what happened last night, I . . . couldn't sleep in my bed so I . . . err . . . went down to Professor Snape's apartments. He has a couch and I slept there." He decided not to mention that soon there would be a room there for him as well. It wasn't there yet, after all. He pulled the stopper from the vial of potion and gulped it down.

"Oh. Yeah, I can see why . . ." Ron grimaced. "Bloody Craven!"

Hermione looked from one to the other, an expression of extreme puzzlement upon her features. "Harry, I don't understand. What happened last night? Did Malfoy prank you or something?" She had been sleeping when Percy had called the meeting last night and no one had bothered to wake her.

"No. It's just . . ." Harry sighed. "Certain people in our House don't like the fact that Professor Snape is my guardian so they . . . decided to redecorate my bed and trunk last night. With green paint. They think I'm a Slytherin lover and should be Re-Sorted."

"Which has never happened and whoever's behind this had better watch out, or else McGonagall's going to nail their arse to the wall."

"Oh, Harry! That's awful! I can't imagine who would be mean enough to do that to you." Hermione said sympathetically. "I hope they catch whoever it was and give them detention for the rest of the year. It's nobody's business but yours who your guardian is."

Ron rolled his eyes. "He's the Boy Who Lived, Hermione. In the wizarding world, anything that concerns Harry concerns everyone else too."

Harry scowled down at his scrambled eggs and sausage. "I hate being famous! It bloody sucks!" But he said that last under his breath, so Snape wouldn't hear it. He didn't want to eat soap for breakfast.

Just then the owls flew into the hall with the morning post. Several of them carried packages and letters in their beaks and also the morning edition of the Prophet. A brown owl delivered a copy to Hermione. At the Slytherin table, Draco also received a copy, and began scanning it immediately for Quidditch stats.

Suddenly, a gray and white barred owl landed in front of Harry with an envelope in his beak.

"Huh? A letter for me?" Harry frowned, taking the letter. "I don't understand. Who would be sending me a letter by owl?" The only people he knew that were wizards were those in Hogwarts. He turned it over to see if there was a return address, but all he found was a red seal with a large M on it.

"That's the seal for the Ministry of Magic, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, peering over his shoulder.

"I don't know anyone from there."

"Maybe the Minister wrote you a letter," Ron said eagerly. "My dad works over there, that's how I recognize that crest.

"Open it, Harry," urged Hermione.

Harry broke the seal and opened the envelope. Inside was a creamy sheet of parchment.

He unfolded it. Written in a bold unfamiliar hand was the following message.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I am writing this to inform you of your extreme stupidity in accepting the guardianship of Professor Severus Snape. Do you not know he is associated with dark magic? He's a sneaking skulking Slytherin, for pity's sake! You cannot trust anyone from the House of Serpents, my boy. The truth is not in them. You have made a very grave mistake in letting Snape have control over you. _

_You ought to terminate the guardianship immediately, you have no need of a Slytherin seeing to you when there are perfectly good Gryffindors or Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs who would gladly take you in. Get rid of Snape! Having him in charge of you is like allowing a cobra to sleep in your bed._

_I knew your parents well, boy. They never would have wanted this for you. Your father hated Snape._

_Find someone else—anyone else—to be your guardian. You disgrace your House by allowing that scummy snake control over your vault. _

_Tell Snape to go drown himself in his own cauldron. It's what your father would have done. Or else suffer the consequences._

_The Fifth Marauder_

Harry scowled. "This is ridiculous! I wish people would just mind their own business!"

"The Fifth Marauder?" Ron repeated. "Is that some sort of code name?"

"How should I know? I didn't write it." Harry said irritably.

He half-crumpled the letter and started to shove it in his pocket. He would show it to Snape later. Maybe he could figure out who the mysterious author was.

Another owl hovered over the dark-haired boy, a large yellow envelope in its beak. It dropped it down on Harry's plate.

"Another one?" Harry groaned, lifting it up.

Across the room, Skullduggery saw the bright flash of yellow and turned his head to see what it was. He gave a squawk of alarm. "Don't open that!" he bellowed in Hagrid's bass.

He flew like lightning across the hall.

Snape looked up from finishing his breakfast. "Skullduggery, by all that's good on the earth—" He tracked the raven's flight . . . and saw the yellow envelope in Harry's small hand. "Potter, no—!"

Too late.

The innocent sunshine yellow envelope unfolded itself. On the inside was a single word.

**TRAITOR!**

A puff of some kind of purple dust flew out and into Harry's face, coating it and his glasses.

Harry started coughing and gasping. He could feel the dust burning his skin, making it red and swollen, as if he'd been stung by a nest full of hornets. His tongue swelled because he'd accidentally gotten a bit of the dust on his tongue as he coughed. His eyes began to stream with tears, and he tried frantically to brush off the dust, only to find his fingers were now itching, burning, and swelling up as well.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped. "What's happening to you?"

"It was cursed! The letter!" Ron cried, staring at his friend in horror. "Somebody help him!"

Skullduggery landed on the table, and began to croon worriedly at Harry, whose cheeks were so swollen you could barely see his eyes. "Bran-boy, you shouldn't have opened that. It was a hexed letter."

"Skull . . . help . . ." Harry whimpered.

Severus was on his feet and striding down to the Gryffindor table before anyone else had a chance to react to Harry's predicament. He reached Harry before Percy could get out of his chair, and lifted the stricken student into his arms. "Mr. Potter, relax. I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing. Poppy can dismantle the curse." He swept the table with a hawk-like glare before striding out of the hall, Harry cradled close. "Skullduggery, go to Poppy and tell her what happened. Quickly!"

The raven was out of the door before Snape had set foot across the threshold.

Harry was whimpering and shaking, unable to help himself. "Hurts . . . Sev'rus . . . make it stop . . ." His entire face felt like it was on fire and twice its size as well.

"I know. We're almost there." Severus said, trying to remain calm, half-running down the corridors. "You were hit with Hornet Dust, Harry. A powder designed to make the recipient feel as if they were stung by a thousand hornets. " He winced as the child groaned, tears falling down his grossly swollen face. He cursed under his breath. _I should have warned him not to open any envelope colored yellow. Fool! If I had been paying attention, I might have stopped him from opening it._ It made him furious, that someone would target Harry over the guardianship in such a cruel way. He had expected to get Howlers and cursed letters, but figured Harry would garner sympathy as the dupe of the big bad dungeon bat, not be attacked as well.

Harry buried his face in Snape's robes, making strangled sobbing sounds. Nothing had ever hurt so much in his life, not even his broken wrist.

Severus ran faster, arriving at the infirmary in seven minutes flat. He pointed his wand at the door and it slammed open.

"Severus, bring him over here, quickly!" the mediwitch ordered, gesturing to a bed.

The Potions Master set his ward down so Poppy could examine him, holding him down firmly for Harry was squirming in pain. "Easy, child."

Poppy waved her wand and some of the swelling about Harry's face and hands went down. "Mr. Potter, can you talk?"

Harry managed a choked, "Yes. I dink so." His tongue was still swollen and it hurt.

"Open your mouth." Poppy ordered. "Hmm, looks like he got some in his mouth, Severus. Which means . . . he can't swallow potions."

"Can you spell them into his stomach?" Snape asked.

"No. I haven't the skill for that. Fetch me a syringe."

Severus obeyed, Summoning it and the potion, then turning Harry over so the mediwitch could give him an injection of the antidote.

Harry yelled as the needle slid into his bottom. "Oww! That _hurt_!"

"Forgive me, child, but it was the only way," Poppy apologized, patting him on the back. "You should start to feel better in a minute or two." She waved her wand over the boy and Harry's school uniform was Transfigured into a set of hospital pajamas. "Severus, help me turn him."

The Potions Master did so, gently laying his ward on his side. As they watched, the swelling and most of the redness began to disappear, and Harry could speak normally again and see through more than slitted eyes as well. "How do you feel now, Harry?"

"A little better, sir." He replied, shifting slightly. The terrible burning sensation was beginning to fade little by little, though now his bottom ached.

"Can you swallow a pain relieving draft?" Poppy queried.

Harry nodded rapidly. No way did he want another injection.

He took the potion the mediwitch gave him without protest, drinking it down quickly. "Ugh! Tastes like old socks."

"Here, dear. Drink some ice water." Poppy gave him a silver goblet and Harry drank eagerly. The water washed the awful taste away and felt cool and soothing upon his tongue.

The pain relieving draft soon banished the last of the prickling and burning, much to Harry's relief. He blinked away tears and gazed up at Severus. "The envelope . . . it was cursed, wasn't it?"

Snape nodded solemnly. "Forgive me, Harry. I should have warned you about them, but I never thought you would become a target for spite and malice as I was."

"Whatever do you mean, Severus?" cried Poppy. "I thought this occurred because of a prank. Are you telling me that someone deliberately sent a Plague envelope to Harry . . . knowing what it would do? That's . . . monstrous!"

Snape looked grim.

"Evil, nasty, wicked people!" sneered Skull, bristling. "I'd like to rip out their livers . . . and eat them with fava beans and a nice Chianti," The raven hissed, imitating Hannibal Lecter.

"Severus! Where does he learn these things?" cried Pomfrey, horrified.

"Muggle culture, I'm afraid."

Harry smiled slightly and wondered where on earth Skull had seen—or heard—_Silence of the Lambs_.

"From now on, I shall be receiving any mail for Mr. Potter, so I can scan it for any harmful hexes, jinxes, and so forth," Severus declared firmly. "I won't open it, but I will inspect it." He explained to Harry. "Any Howlers or Plague envelopes I shall destroy."

"A Plague envelope?" Harry repeated. "Why is it called that?"

"Because back when the bubonic plague and cholera epidemics ravaged Britain, families put up red and yellow plague flags in front of homes where people were infected, warning others to beware. " Madam Pomfrey explained. "The yellow color was a warning that you should beware the contents of the envelope. It often contained a nasty jinx, or a powder, usually disease related. But of course, Mr. Potter, you wouldn't have known that, as such missives have fallen into disuse over twenty years ago. But back in my day, some unscrupulous little beasts thought it very funny to send them to rival students, though they rarely contained such potent hexes as this one." Her eyes flashed. She looked over at Snape. "I'm surprised, Severus, that you knew about them."

"I've studied many things, Poppy," was all the Potions professor replied. He rested his hand lightly on Harry's head. "The swelling has gone down considerably. Are you in any pain now?"

Harry shook his head. "Not any more."

"Good."

"Mr. Potter, you'll need to stay here for the morning. By then, the effects of the Hornet powder will have been totally neutralized and you can go back to class."

"Just in time for my afternoon potions," said Severus with some satisfaction.

"What are we brewing today?" Harry asked eagerly.

"You will find out when you have class," answered his teacher obliquely.

"For now, I would suggest you get some rest, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey told him.

Harry wanted to tell her he wasn't tired, but the truth was he felt wrung out and weary. He found himself finishing his water and then yawning. Then he recalled the other letter he had received that morning. "Sir, where are my clothes? I . . . I had another letter . . . before this one . . . I wanted to show you it."

"Where?"

"In my robe pocket."

Severus waved his wand and Harry's robe appeared. He reached intothe pocket and pulled out the letter.

"That's it. Do you recognize the handwriting?"

Severus read it. He was scowling. "No. But perhaps if I study it . . ." The signature alone made his blood boil. He wondered which of his classmates had dared to send Harry this, resurrecting the specter of the bloody Marauders. "Try and rest, Harry. Do not concern yourself with the letter. Focus on recovering."

"Okay, professor." Harry mumbled, his eyes starting to close. He removed his glasses, handing them to Snape, who placed them on the small bedside table. "Severus? Will you stay here until I'm sleeping?" he whispered.

Snape simply nodded and seated himself in an upholstered chair. "Fear not, child. I shall set wards so no one can harm you." He began to chant softly, casting swiftly and with a minimum of wand movement. By the time he had finished, Harry was sound asleep. "Skullduggery, watch over him."

"Of course, Sev." The raven fluttered down on Harry's pillow and gently began to preen the sleeping wizard's hair, a gesture of affection he rarely performed on anyone other than Snape.

With his magic and his raven on guard, Severus felt secure enough to leave Harry asleep in the Hospital Wing, returning to the Great Hall to inform Dumbledore and McGonagall about Harry's predicament. If he ever found out who had sent that envelope . . . Skullduggery eating the wizard or witch's liver would be the _least_ of their problems.

Snape arrived just as the students were dismissed to go to their morning classes, and had to wait until the endless deluge of small black robed bodies went past before he could enter the hall. He had a prep period before his ten o'clock class, and so was not in a hurry to get to the dungeons. He waited for the bulk of the students to go by, some of them cast him half fearful glares, and one or two older Gryffindors actually dared to mutter that it was _his_ fault that Potter had gotten cursed, requiring him to take points for disrespect.

"Professor Snape!" he heard Granger call from the middle of the press of students. "Is Harry going to be all right?"

She elbowed her way to his side, her bushy hair flying all over. Ron Weasley came behind her, also looking concerned.

"Mr. Potter will make a full recovery in a few hours. Right now he is resting."

"You're sure?" Ron asked.

Snape looked down his nose at the red-haired firstie. "Weasley, if I were not certain, I would have told you. You shall see Potter in my fifth period potions. Now off with you, before you are late for class and lose your House more points which you can ill afford."

Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but Hermione caught his sleeve and tugged him along. Being late was a cardinal sin in her book. "Thank you, professor," she called breathlessly over her shoulder. "I'm so glad he's going to be all right, Ron. What kind of powder was in that envelope, I wonder . . .?"

Severus nearly smiled at the young witch's curiosity. In many ways she reminded him of himself at that age.

Then he hurried into the hall, where Albus and Minerva lingered, to inform them about Harry and tell the Headmaster he would be screening Harry's mail from now on. As expected, Minerva was livid, and Albus was also upset. But neither of them protested against Severus' protective measures.

"I cannot believe anyone would send a boy such a dreadful thing!" Minerva spat.

"Public opinion can be dangerous," Snape said. Minerva could not comprehend just how dangerous because she had never been in public eye before, nor subjected to public disapproval and censor, like Severus had. "And Potter has many enemies."

"Who do you think sent it?" Dumbledore asked.

"It could have been any number of people." Severus said. With disapproval running so high against the guardianship, Severus could not narrow it down. A Death Eater might have sent that envelope, or merely a citizen who wished Harry to learn a lesson. Right then he cared less about finding the culprit than he did making sure Harry was safe. "But I shall see to it that it never happens again."

"Good for you, Severus! I shall make sure no tampers with Potter's things in Gryffindor Tower either." Minerva declared. "But now I have to run, I have second-years to teach." She blurred into the spectacled tabby and raced away.

"I, too, have correspondence to attend to," Dumbledore said regretfully. "I shall see you at lunch, Severus."

Snape nodded, his mind already far off, mentally calculating his next class and how many students would muck up the potion assigned and blow up a cauldron.

CICICICICI

Harry slept for over four hours, and in that time, the potion he had been given finally neutralized all of the powder's effects, returning the small eleven-year-old to normal. Poppy checked on him every so often, though she was busy filling out paperwork for the school's medical records. But the raven was perched upon Harry's headboard, alert and watchful.

Poppy received a Floo call from St. Mungo's in the afternoon, and left the infirmary briefly to deliver a crate of potions for their storage room.

While she was gone, Harry woke up. He sat up gingerly, his bum still twinged with residual pain, but was otherwise bearable. Then he reached for his glasses and stuck them on his head. He glanced around, not seeing Pomfrey anywhere. He debated on whether or not to leave the bed to use the bathroom, he was about to burst and felt much better than he had before the nap.

He carefully slid his legs out of bed and stood up. It was then that he noticed the absence of the raven.

"Skull?" he called, looking around. He was almost positive he had heard Snape tell the familiar to stay with Harry just as he drifted off. And though the raven could be impudent, he would never forsake his duty. "Skull?"

He took two steps forward and stumbled over the still form of the insolent raven.

Harry froze. Then he screamed, "Skullduggery!" and knelt to gather the bird into his arms. The raven was barely breathing.

Harry felt a terrible pressure squeezing his chest and he raced out the door. Severus. He had to find Severus. Severus would know what to do. Tears burning his eyes, Harry ran as quickly as he could to the dungeons, a single thought blazing in his mind—he had to save Skullduggery. He only hoped he was in time.

**What will happen now?**

**Please do not hex, beat, curse, or otherwise kill the author for this evil cliffy. Otherwise you'll never know if Skull lives or dies. **


	13. Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night

**13**

**"Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night"**

**Chapter title from a poem by Dylan Thomas**

Harry had never run so quickly in his entire life, not even when Dudley and his gang were chasing him through the schoolyard, intent on pounding him into the dirt. His trainers squeaked and skidded upon the floor, so rapidly did he accelerate and turn. He bolted down the hall and down the two flights of stairs like a dervish, thanking Merlin that everyone else had class right then and so there was no one to impede his progress and no professors to shout that he shouldn't run in the hallway. He could feel his throat tightening with pure fear and guilt, and he panted harshly, but never stopped running. He carried Skull cradled in the crook of his arm, and he kept chanting the same refrain in his head as he ran. _Skull, don't die! Please don't die! Severus will help you!_

Once down the marble staircase, he made a quick left and bolted through the door leading to the dungeons. Down the steps he flew and then along the corridor leading to Snape's classroom. By now he was short of breath and had a stitch in his side from running so fast, but he ignored it. He didn't care if he collapsed so long as he got Skullduggery to Severus. "Almost there! Hold on, Skull! Please!" he whispered to the comatose raven. He felt tears prickle his eyes but refused to indulge in them. There would be time enough for that later, especially if the raven didn't make it. _Stop that!_ he rebuked himself. _Skull will make it. He HAS to. _But there was a dreadful lump somewhere in deep in his stomach and he whispered, "Don't die, Skull. We need you so much!"

Finally he reached the potions classroom. From the sound of things, the students had just arrived and were getting seated, he could hear the scrape of chairs and voices talking and Snape telling them to get seated quietly, this was not social hour. Harry thrilled to hear that familiar snarky tone, and he threw open the door with a loud bang and rushed into the room.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Snape pinned him with his stern obsidian gaze. "Mr. Potter," he drawled dangerously. "Is the school on fire? Under attack? If the answer to those questions is no, then you had better have a good explanation as to why you have entered my classroom like a rampaging rhinoceros, or else!"

"It's Skull, sir! I think he's . . . dying!" Harry gasped, showing Snape the limp black form.

There were multiple cries of dismay and horror from his classmates. However annoying he could be, the raven was one of the best-loved animals in the school.

Severus was at Harry's side in an instant. "My office, Potter, quickly!" He practically hauled Harry through the archway leading to his office, pausing to call over his shoulder, "The rest of you, begin the assignment on the board immediately!" He quickly shut the office door, then turned to his ward. "Let me see, Harry."

Harry gently handed the raven to his teacher. "Here, Uncle Sev. I . . . I don't know how it happened. I woke up and went to use the bathroom and I tripped and found him like this on the floor. Did . . . did someone hex him?"

Severus had drawn his wand and was running it over the raven. "Impossible. Nothing evil could have gotten past my wards without setting off alarms. This wasn't caused by a spell." He gently poked and prodded the raven. There was no response.

"Then what happened?"

"I . . . am unsure. I shall contact my Magical Creatures vet, Gwenyth Williams shall know what's wrong with him," murmured the Potions Master, clearly distressed. He set the raven atop his desk and firecalled Gwenyth, whose specialty was magical avians.

He withdrew his head from the flames and said, "Healer Williams shall be here shortly."

Harry swallowed sharply, only then recalling that he desperately needed to use the bathroom. But he didn't want to leave Skull. He squirmed, unable to help himself.

Severus frowned. "Harry, for Merlin's sake, go and use the lavatory. I would rather not be cleaning up a mess on my carpet."

Harry flushed. "But, sir, I need to make sure Skull's all right."

"And risk having an accident?" demanded Severus. "Go!"

Harry obeyed, his bladder was leaving him little choice.

Three minutes later he was back in Snape's office, where he saw a medium-sized young woman of about twenty-two with long dark hair and silvery-blue eyes examining the raven. She wore a long robe of peacock blue and green with a wand and phoenix emblem upon it. After a moment she lowered her wand and said, "Well, Professor Snape, Skull wasn't the victim of a curse or even some kind of illness. It would seem he swallowed some sort of . . .magical powder, which acted like a poison to his system, causing him to go into anaphylactic shock. "

"The Hornet Dust!" exclaimed Severus.

Harry cried out in horror. "No! That's not true!"

"Of course it is," said the vet crossly, fixing Harry with a stern look. "Why? Did you give him it?"

"Not on purpose! It was a cursed envelope. It hit me and . . . got everywhere. Skull must have eaten some when he . . . he started grooming my hair," Harry realized, feeling guilt churn his stomach into a lake of acid. He clutched his middle and whimpered.

"Oh. My apologies then. It was an accident," she said, much more compassionately.

"Can you neutralize the poison?" asked Snape, his fingers gently stroking the obsidian feathers.

"Yes. But I shall need a few potions, sir. I have him stabilized for now with my magic. Do you have a counterdraft to this Hornet Dust?"

"Yes. It was recently used on Mr. Potter here." Severus quickly summoned the proper potion and Gwenyth gently pried open Skull's beak and administered the potion with a small syringe that lacked a needle. She quickly cast a diagnostic and said softly, "It's beginning to break down the poison molecules, but I have no idea if it will be enough. The poison has begun to damage his internal organs."

"Can you fix him?" Harry cried, his green eyes bright with unshed tears.

"I can try to repair most of the damage, but I cannot tell if the poison had an effect on his brain. He may live but not be the same. Or he could be fine. Or he might die despite all I can do." The vet admitted candidly.

"If that's the best you can do, what good are you?" Harry blurted, his guilty conscience was eating him up inside and he did not know how to handle all of the pain and anger he felt, except by targeting something or someone.

"Potter, that was uncalled for!" snapped his guardian. "You have no reason to be rude to Miss Williams. Forgive him, Miss Williams, he has grown very close to Skull and in his grief he forgets common courtesy."

"I understand, sir." The young woman said. "I'd be the same if it were a pet of my own who was almost at death's door. But please, I must have complete silence to work." She drew her wand and began to chant softly in Latin. A glowing bluish light sprang from her wand and surrounded the bird and her hands.

Severus watched, his eyes glued to his familiar, his face pale and his black eyes glittering with a fierce concern and love for his stricken familiar.

Harry went and huddled in the chair next to the desk, still feeling awful and now regretting his hasty words. "I'm sorry," he muttered, and felt the guilt rise to smother him. He blinked hard and prayed that Skull would survive. He recalled the raven sitting on his shoulder and preening his hair and suddenly tears filled his eyes and dripped down his cheeks. It was all his fault Skullduggery was poisoned. Severus would never forgive him for this. He lifted his hands and ran them through his hair, half tearing out black strands, while simulataneous concealing his tears with the sleeves of his robes.

For an endless amount of time, there was silence in the office, as Gwenyth Williams sought to repair the damage done to the familiar with spells. Actually, nearly forty-five minutes had gone by, but to Harry and Severus it was like eternity. Neither spoke, but remained still, eyes fixed upon the Magical Creatures vet, who spoke different charms and moved her wand in miniscule ways, touching the raven's heart, head, stomach, and throat.

At last she straightened, wincing, and the bluish light went out. "I have done all I possibly can, Professor. He is very weak, but he may recover. Or he might die, his liver was fairly badly damaged and his immune system compromised. I have tried to repair them, but sometimes the spells do not take, especially since he is a magical raven, and those birds with magic often fight against my spells. The next twenty-four hours are crucial. Give him small sips of water with a tablespoonful of honey stirred in it every hour or two, that should keep his metabolism up and prevent dehydration. Keep him warm and quiet. That is all you can do. If all goes well, he ought come out of his sleep by tomorrow morning and hopefully have an appetite. When he wakes, you may give him a half-teaspoon of Animal Pain Reliever. Call me if there is any change." She handed Snape a vial of green liquid.

"I will. Thank you, Miss Williams." Severus said, conjuring a warm blanket to wrap Skullduggery in.

"Don't thank me yet, sir. He's not out of the woods." Gwenyth said. "Merlin bless and keep him. I'll send you a bill later. He's a tough old corvus, if anyone could survive this kind of thing, a raven can."

With that, she departed through the fireplace, heading back to her office.

Severus tenderly wrapped the blanket about his familiar and lifted him up. He turned to look at Harry, who was staring down at the floor. "Harry, go back to my classroom and start on my assignment. I shall be along shortly to monitor the rest of the class."

"No!" Harry protested. "You can't leave Skull alone. Please let me watch him. Don't send me away, sir. I know it's my fault he was poisoned, but . . . " He trailed off, struggling to keep from bursting into tears.

"Come with me," was all Snape said then, and Harry rose immediately and followed the professor to his quarters.

Severus carefully placed the raven on the sofa, the blanket still shrouding him. Then he turned to Harry and said, very quietly and firmly, "Harry James Potter, you are not going to blame yourself for this. You could not have known that some of the powder residue had gotten in your hair, or that Skullduggery would chance to pick some up while preening you. What happened was an accident, a twist of fate, and is not your fault whatsoever. If you need to blame someone, blame the bloody idiot who sent you that letter." He went and took the boy's chin in his hand and lifted it until Harry was looking at him. "Understand?"

Harry sniffed. "Yes, but . . . I'm still sorry . . . I . . . don't want him to die . . ."

"Nor do I, believe me." Severus said feelingly. "But Harry, sometimes you cannot prevent the ones you love from dying. Gwenyth Williams was a former student of mine, one of the first I ever taught, she was a first year Ravenclaw when I began teaching. She is the most competent avian vet I know, and there is no one I would trust more with saving Skullduggery. She is not incompetent by any means. And she certainly did not deserve to be insulted by you, however upset you are."

"I'm sorry . . ." Harry whispered, both relieved and ashamed of his behavior. To his horror, he started to cry, tears leaking down his face. "I just want him to be all right . . ." he tried to pull away, but to his astonishment, Severus put an arm about him and gave him a hug. Harry found his face pressed into familiar black robes and the contact caused him to lose control and begin to sob hard.

"Shhh . . . it will be all right . . ."

"Do you really believe that?" Harry choked out, his words muffled somewhat by the fabric, but Snape understood.

"Yes. To believe otherwise would be unthinkable," answered the Potions Master. "Skull is a tough old bird, he has never been sick a day in his life. His constitution is second to none. He _will_ recover." Snape's voice rang with his conviction, though inwardly he felt afraid. But he could not let Harry see that. The boy was already a nervous wreck. He patted Harry on the back, holding him until the storm of tears had blown itself out. Then he handed Harry a handkerchief and said, "I think it best if you went back and tried to do my assignment. I shall need to return to the classroom and check on the rest of the students. Afterwards I shall cancel the rest of my classes and return here. You may accompany me, if you wish."

Harry blew his nose and wiped his eyes. "Yes, Uncle Severus. But . . . you see, I don't think I could concentrate on brewing right now. I keep seeing him lying there . . ."

Severus sighed, seeing the real distress in his ward's eyes. "Very well. But you shall make up that potion tomorrow. Stay here, order some tea if you wish. I shall be back shortly."

Harry gave him a watery smile then returned to the sofa and seated himself near the comatose raven. His fingers darted out to gently stroke the sleeping bird and Severus heard him whisper, "Keep breathing, Skull. Remember, you're not dead yet. You don't need to go on the cart."

Severus raised an eyebrow . He had not known that Harry was a Monty Python aficionado. Then he departed his quarters with a swirl of his robes. He would have liked nothing better than to remain beside his familiar, but he knew he had to return to his classroom ad make sure it was still standing and nobody had died. With Longbottom brewing, either was a distinct possibility.

Some twenty minutes later, Severus returned to his quarters, having firecalled Albus to inform him about his familiar and that he was going to cancel classes for the rest of the day. Albus was most sympathetic and told Severus he wished the raven a speedy recovery. The professor thanked him, vowing revenge upon whoever had sent that damned Plague Envelope. Hurting both his ward and his familiar was an unforgivable thing by Snape's standards.

Skullduggery was still the same, and Harry was huddled in a corner of the sofa, arms wrapped about his knees, looking at the raven pleadingly.

Severus said quietly, "How is he?"

"The same."

"Have you eaten yet?"

Harry shook his head. "Not hungry."

Severus summoned some tea and toast with butter and jam, plus a Nutrient Draft. "Try and eat. It's better to have something in your stomach."

Harry looked at the food disinterestedly.

"At least drink your Nutrient potion."

Harry did. Then he drank a cup of heavily sugared tea and ate a few bites of toast.

Severus poured himself a cup of tea and drank it black. Then he drank another, before forcing himself to eat as well. He looked over at his ward and asked how he was feeling. "Do you still feel tired or achy from the powder?"

Harry shook his head.

"A verbal answer, please."

"No, sir. I feel all right. Except for Skull."

Severus heaved a large sigh. He might seem in control, but within he was screaming and crying just like Harry. "I know. Whoever sent that envelope has much to answer for!" Snape's tone could have sent a Dementor scurrying for cover.

"If I ever find out who did that, I'm going to hunt the bastard down and kick his cowardly arse!"

This once, Snape did not reprimand Harry for his language. Anyone who could send such a letter to a small boy and cause him to be injured along with his familiar did not deserve any kind of consideration. Instead he said, "Leave that to me, Mr. Potter. Now, you look rather wrung out. Might I suggest you get some sleep?"

"I'm not tired," Harry protested.

"No? Then why are your eyes closing?"

Harry shrugged, trying to keep his eyes open. But it was no use. His eyes shut in spite of himself and he slept for several hours.

Severus remained awake, staring into the fire, listening to the soft hiss and crackle of the flames, recalling all the times he had scolded the raven for his smart mouth and impudent attitude. He would have taken it all back to hear that voice again, spouting some Muggle quote from a song or movie, or stealing food from his plate. He turned and looked down at the raven and only then did he allow himself the luxury of tears.

He placed a palm on the raven, feeling the chest rise and fall, though there was no guarantee that Skull would remain that way. He sensed the struggle going on within the black bird, a titanic struggle for life against all odds. "Do not go gently into that good night, my friend," he murmured, quoting one of his favorite Welsh poets. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." He wiped a hand across his eyes and said, "You have a will of steel, use it to come back to me." He did not know what he would do without Skullduggery, the bird was like his other secret self. Skull did something no one else had ever done for the lonely professor, he made Snape smile and even laugh on occasion. Most of all, Skullduggery was loyal and would never betray him. Snape had no better confidante than the raven, who for all his mimicry, knew when to keep his beak shut. Severus had never thought about whether or not he needed a familiar, he had never chosen one because of his occupation as a spy and also because he feared he would have little time to take care of one. He would have remained alone forever until Skullduggery had decided otherwise. The quirky smartass raven had grown upon him, until now Severus could not imagine his life without him. Nor did he ever wish to.

Severus drank a third cup of tea, then tried to grade some homework. After reading twenty papers, he put them aside, unable to concentrate. He went and fetched the plastic syringe and gave the sleeping raven the required mixture of water and honey. That done, he tried to rest also, but kept starting up, thinking he heard Skullduggery cawing. But every time he glanced over at the raven, he saw that Skull was motionless. With a shudder, he recalled the old superstition that ravens were harbingers of death. Would death come for the cocky raven this night?

Meanwhile, back in the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione were informing the rest of their House about Skullduggery's condition. Most of the students, even the ones who disliked birds, felt sorry for the familiar and also the professor and Harry. It was the same in the Slytherin common room and with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. But it was Hermione's idea to send a condolence card to Professor Snape, a wish for Skull to get well.

"What are you writing, Hermione?" asked Ron, trying to see what she was scratching out on her parchment.

"A note to Professor Snape."

"Why, got another question about the homework? Or do you want to do some extra credit assignment?"

"No. I'm writing to him to tell him how sorry I am about Skull and hoping he gets well and doesn't . . . die."

"Oh. That's really . . . thoughtful of you," Ron said.

"What a great idea, Hermione!" said Fred. "Why don't-?"

"—we do it too, twin?" finished George. "It would really bite if good old Skull went to birdie heaven."

There were murmurs of agreement from everyone in the common room. Next thing you knew, all the students were busy scribbling away on pieces of parchment.

Then they all headed up to the Owlery to borrow some owls, in the case of those who did not own one, or summon their avians and ask them to deliver the notes to Professor Snape. Over twenty Gryffindors tramped through the corridors and the noise they made brought McGonagall out of her office to investigate.

She stared at all her lions and said, "What is going on here? Where are all of you going?"

"To send letters to Professor Snape," answered Hermione.

McGonagall's eyebrows rose. "Letters to Professor Snape? Whose idea was this?"

"It was mine, ma'am," admitted Hermione. "His familiar Skull is very sick and could die, I heard Harry say so. So I thought he might like a get well card for Skull."

"Why, that's very thoughtful of you, Granger. And all the rest of you . . .have decided to write one as well?"

"Yes, professor," answered the rest.

"Hmm . . . perhaps I ought to write one as well," mused the Transfiguration teacher. "Carry on then."

The Gryffindors tramped up to the Owlery, where they found a few Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, and some Hufflepuffs also mailing out letters home to friends and family. Once they learned what some of the Gryffindors were doing, they returned to their common rooms to write their own get well missives. The Slytherins especially did not want to be outdone, and their students wrote twice as many cards as anyone else.

CICICICICI

Harry woke hungry and cold, as he had kicked off the blanket Severus had placed over him, and the fire had died down to almost embers. He sat up and looked over at the now slumbering Severus and the raven, who was cradled in the other's lap, still asleep. Harry felt a pang of disappointment at Skull's condition, he wasn't any worse, but neither was he better. He thought about going to the hall for dinner, but he didn't feel like mingling with the other students. All he wanted was a quiet dinner and to not be bombarded by questions. He wondered if Severus would mind if he called a house elf to bring him a tray?

But before he could get the words past his lips, there came a loud whoo-hoo at the door. Harry rose and opened the door to let in the owl. The bird flew right to Snape and dropped a letter in his lap. Harry turned about and saw an entire sea of owls coming towards the professor's quarters. For one moment, Harry feared this was more nasty mail, until he saw Hermione's name on one and the twins' on the other. This was not hate mail, but something else again.

The owls continued coming, until there was a deluge of mail, it reminded Harry of the way the Hogwarts invitation kept coming to Privet Drive. Soon the table and Severus's side of the couch were full with messages. Harry gaped, then went to wake up his mentor.

"Uncle Severus, wake up! You have to see this!" He shook the other's shoulder.

Snape came awake immediately. "What's wrong? Is it Skull?"

"No, sir. He's the same as before. But you have to see all the mail you're getting."

Severus scowled. "More hate mail?"

"No. I think these are from students." He handed Snape Hermione's letter.

Severus read through the first one and then another. He was astonished and deeply touched that the children cared so much about school and his familiar to the point of sending cards wishing Skull well. Some of the notes contained small sweets, others contained small treats for the raven.

"Do you want me to help open some?" asked Harry.

"Be my guest," Severus gestured to the piles of mail.

Together, they sorted through the mail, with Harry reading some of the longer notes.

Finally the mail stopped coming and both Harry and Snape could relax and eat dinner. Severus summoned a simple meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes as well as blueberry pie. Harry found that he was actually hungry after all, and devoured the meal. It was past eight o'clock and Harry felt very tired once again.

By the time both had finished their meal, the second wave of "Skull mail" had arrived. This one was not as large as the first part, but it did keep them busy, proving that Harry and Snape were not alone in caring about the raven. Over half the missives began with the standard, _"Dear Professor Snape, I'm really sorry to hear about Skull . . . I hope he pulls through . . ." _

After opening the last envelope, Harry glanced over at the bird and asked, "Is he any better?"

"Some," replied his guardian. At least Skull was still breathing. He continued to give the bird the sweetened water at intervals. He directed Harry to stack the mail, sorting it into piles according to House.

Harry eagerly did so, not ready to leave his mentor's quarters. Severus attempted to tell Harry to leave, but Harry respectfully, if stubbornly, refused. "If you make me, sir, I'll leave. But I won't go far. I'll sleep outside your door in the hallway."

The Potions Master frowned severely. "You will do no such thing, boy!"

Harry coughed. "If I go back to Gryffindor Tower, I won't sleep a wink, and you're always telling me how important it is to get a good night's rest, sir."

"You are incorrigible, young one!"

"Yes, sir."

"I ought to take thirty points for your insubordination, Mr. Potter."

"Yes, sir."

"Just because you are my ward does not mean you will be allowed to flout school rules."

"No, sir. But how is sleeping on your couch breaking the rules?"

Severus frowned severely. "Mind your cheeky tongue, Potter."

"I'll try, sir."

He snorted. "Try very hard."

"I will. Can I stay on the couch? I won't be any trouble."

"You had better not be, or else there are several cauldrons with your name on them waiting for your expert touch with a scrub brush," threatened his mentor. "Go and fetch yourself a pillow and a blanket from the closet. You ought to know where they are by now."

Harry did so, hiding a grin. His guardian waved his wand and Harry was wearing pajamas and fuzzy socks. "Now then, go straight to bed. Because whether or not you are exhausted, anxious, or otherwise, you are going to class tomorrow."

Harry said nothing, but Snape caught the hidden smirk. "You have something else to say, Potter?"

"Uh . . . there's no potions class on Wednesday for first years, sir."

Severus merely glared at him.

After the annoying child had closed his eyes, Snape kept vigil through the night, hoping against hope that Skullduggery would manage to shake off the injuries done to him and wake in the morning. Somewhere around two o'clock, Snape succumbed to exhaustion himself and slept, his familiar snuggled in his lap.

He woke several times to check on the familiar, and each time his hope dwindled a bit more as Skullduggery remained unmoving and silent, his glib tongue stilled.

The mantle clock struck six AM, and Severus woke, having felt something flutter beneath his fingers. Ever so slowly, the professor brought his gaze downward, until his dark eyes met another pair. The raven lifted his head and said, "Sev, I feel like dragon dung. Did someone hex me?"

"Are you hungry?"

The raven's head bobbed up and down. "I could eat a hippogriff."

Severus began to smile then, one of his very rare grins, and then he summoned the pain reliever. "Here, I need you to take this. You'll feel better."

"Potions? You know how I hate them," grumbled the bird. His beady eyes peered up at his wizard. "Why do I need it? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Not anymore."

"Huh? Are you all right, Sev?"

"Fine."

Skullduggery cocked his head. "Then why are you crying?"

The professor did not answer. He was too busy hunting in his pocket for a spare handkerchief and trying to convince himself that the tears were from dust particles and not sheer relief that his familiar was awake and on the road to recovery. His hand moved, scratching the bird behind his head. The raven squawked softly, the sound harsh and raspy, but Severus Snape thought it the most beautiful music he had ever heard. And he smiled through his tears.

**How did you like this part? **

**I hope you all got the alert for this story. I have also updated The Apothecary Knows Best, Irresistible Chemistry, and Cursed:Saga of the Outcast Pack, in case any of you were waiting for them to be updated and didn't get the alerts for them.**


	14. The Society of Ravens

**14**

**The Society of Ravens**

Harry opened his eyes and sat up, and all the anxiety of the previous night and day attacked him again. He shoved on his glasses and looked about, spotting Severus, still sitting in his chair . . . feeding Skullduggery some chicken. "Skull!" he cried, a smile blooming on his face. "You're alive!"

The raven squawked at him happily. "The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated, _bran-boy_."

Harry, who had tears of joy in his eyes, started to laugh uncontrollably, that being the only way he could express what he was feeling other than crying, and he wasn't minded to do any more of that for a long time. He laughed so hard he got the hiccups, and had to hold his breath for three minutes to get rid of them.

Severus raised both eyebrows. "If you're quite finished with the histrionics, Mr. Potter . . ."

Harry blinked. "Err . . . sorry, but I couldn't help it . . . Aren't you happy he's alive, sir?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Only a Gryffindor would ask such an obvious question. Of course I am relieved that he didn't succumb to the poison, however—"

"Relieved, my ass!" Skull interrupted. "Don't let his cool façade fool you, Harry. You should have seen him thirty minutes ago, he—"

"Enough, Skullduggery!" Severus ordered sharply, in a tone that no student would have dared disobey.

The raven ignored him, saying slyly, "—cried like a baby when he saw me awake."

Harry's mouth hung open. "He . . . did?"

"By my ancestors and Queen Anne's head, I swear 'tis true!"

Severus shot a look at his familiar that promised maiming. "Skullduggery, I have a potion simmering in my lab that calls for fresh raven's tongue. Don't make me get out my shears."

"Be still, my heart!" the raven gasped. "He loves me not!" Then he toppled off Snape's wrist and lay still.

"Skull!" Harry cried.

"Skullduggery, quit the dramatics," his master sighed.

The raven was motionless, his feet up in the air.

Snape poked him. "Stop this! Right now!"

Still Skull didn't move.

"Harry, fetch me a match. Perhaps if I light his tail feathers on fire . . ."

Skullduggery opened his eyes and snapped, "Severus Snape, you wouldn't _dare_!"

The Potions Master smirked. "That one always works."

Skull flipped to his feet. "You're evil!"

"I know." Snape's hand scratched the raven's back gently. "Next time don't go blabbing about me."

"It's only, Harry, Sev. He's family, you don't have to be afraid to show him that you're human. Even warriors cry." Skullduggery crooned, allowing the long fingers to massage the back of his head.

"Bird, you're pushing my last nerve." His wizard growled warningly.

"Well, someone has to." The raven said impudently. He flew up to Snape's shoulder and nipped him gently on the ear.

Harry snickered. He loved it when the two bantered, it was better than watching live comedy. "Did he tell you about your fan mail yet, Skull?"

"Fan mail? I got mail?"

Severus groaned. "You just had to tell him , didn't you?"

"I got mail? From who?"

"A lot of students," Harry indicated the piles of mail upon the table, there were 100 letters in all. "From all the Houses."

Skull preened proudly. "Wow! I'm a celebrity!" he squawked. "I'm so honored . . ."

"Don't let it go to your head," Severus snorted. "Fame is overrated."

The raven laughed, it sounded remarkably like Harry. Then he turned his head so it was upside down and looked into the Potion Master's face. "Say you love me, Sevvy."

"Will you hush your tongue if I do?"

"Promise. Well?"

Severus exhaled sharply. "I love you, Skullduggery. Satisfied?"

"Harry, you're a witness," the raven cackled. "I love you too."

Severus pinned the Boy-Who-Lived with his obsidian stare. "Mr. Potter, if you _ever_ breathe a word of this to anyone . . . you will have detention with me for eternity."

Harry swallowed. "What was that, sir? I didn't hear anything."

"Smart boy," Severus's lips twitched.

"Spoilsport." Skull blew a raspberry at his wizard.

Harry ducked his head to hide the grin that was plastered across his face. He adored the insolent raven, who seemed to be able to gauge just how far he could push Severus without the man exploding into a temper, and yet whose teasing was never cruel or hurtful. Their playful sparring was almost like that between brothers. When he looked up again, he saw that Severus was reading a few of the notes to Skullduggery, and the raven was looking mighty pleased with himself.

"See, your students _do_ care about you, Sev. This one here, it read, _Dear Professor Snape, I know you are probably feeling awful right now about Skull, I know because I lost my familiar two months ago, poor Nibbler got run over by a lorry while she was crossing the street after being chased by my neighbor's dog. She was a lovely cat and I still miss her. I hope Skull will make it, because you need him so much, sir. I will be praying to Circe for you to save your raven._

_Hannah Abbot,"_ Skullduggery recited.

"Some of them are very kind sentiments," Snape allowed. He had been truly surprised . . . and touched . . . by the letters. He had not thought any of the students, except perhaps his Slytherins and Harry, would care about him losing his familiar. He had even got a letter from Minerva, and from Filius and Hagrid too. He had been too tired and fearful last night to really read the correspondences, but now he took the time to do so, and found that the students were more compassionate than he would have thought. It caused him to feel a strange warmth in his chest. Of course, not all the students had written letters, and he knew that he still had the reputation as a hardass snarky git, but that was all right.

The clock struck eight, and harry glanced at it, and said softly, "Uncle Severus, I was wondering something. That . . .umm . . . Plague Envelope I got? If I didn't open it, would it have still exploded?"

"Yes. Like a Howler, it is timed to go off whether or not the envelope has been opened. You have about twenty-five seconds before it does so, I believe. That was why I was trying to get to you, but unfortunately I could not reach you in time. The only way to have a chance at disarming one would be to use a Blasting or Shredding Curse, as I did with my Howler. But even then, you still might run the risk of getting caught with some dust or liquid upon you, those who sent Plague Envelopes were very clever in making sure their victim got sprayed with whatever nasty virus was inside." Severus' mouth tightened. "That is why, from now on, I shall be inspecting your mail for any hexes, jinxes or curses."

"You're going to open my mail?" Harry cried in dismay. Not that he ever got that much mail, in fact yesterday was the most mail he'd ever gotten, but even so, his mail was . . . it was private!

"No. Not open it, inspect it with magic, to make sure there are no hidden surprises in it. I would never invade your privacy like that, Harry," reassured his professor.

"Oh. Thanks," Harry said, feeling a bit foolish for jumping to conclusions like that. His stomach rumbled loudly and he blushed.

"It would seem we should head to the hall and eat," Severus remarked. "Afterwards, I suggest you brew the potion you missed for my class and then perhaps we could see if Lena or Madam Pince needs our assistance in the library."

"All right, sir," Harry agreed. He would have preferred to spend his Wednesday morning practicing his flying, but he knew Severus' assignment was important, and he loved the library and never really minded being in there.

"What, no arguments about brewing potions when you could be playing Quidditch?"

"I like to fly, and I wouldn't mind the practice, but I know where my priorities lie." Harry said.

"You truly are Lily's son," declared the Potions Master, pleased. He knew quite well that James Potter would rather have been skewered than give up his precious broom for any kind of academics. He pulled on his coat and then his robes, then beckoned to Harry.

Harry led the way out of the dungeons, trying not to run, though he dearly wanted to burst into the hall and shout, "Skull lives!" But he restrained himself, knowing that if he ever did something like that, his guardian would use him for an experimental potion tester. So he contented himself by being the first into the hall and trotting over to the Gryffindor table, where he was bombarded with questions.

"Are you all right, Harry?" asked Hermione, concern in her brown eyes. "That jinx was so nasty."

"I'm fine now." Harry reassured her.

"What about good old Skull?" asked the twins in unison.

"He's not dead, is he?" asked Neville softly.

At that precise moment, Professor Snape entered the hall, Skullduggery gliding overhead to his usual spot on the back of Snape's chair.

"He's back!"

"Skull's back!"

The students whispered, and not a few of them were grinning and some of them cheered as the raven flew by.

All of the staff was smiling, for even though the raven could be a terrible annoyance, they still loved him and never wished him harm. "Skullduggery, my lad! Glad to see you back on your feet," Dumbledore smiled. Then he reached into a pocket and held out a sherbet lemon. "Lemon drop?"

Skull fluttered down and landed neatly in front of Albus on the table. "Don't mind if I do." He gently took the sweet and gulped it down. Then he snitched some bacon off the Headmaster's plate. The Headmaster smiled tolerantly, and further down the table, Severus sighed and shook his head. He never could teach the raven not to steal bits of food. "Incorrigible bird!" he muttered.

"But you love him anyhow," remarked Lena, having observed enough of her colleague's personality by now to know that for the truth.

Severus snorted. He wouldn't bother to comment on that, even though the assistant librarian was dead on target. He busied himself eating his whole grain toast, a piece of ham, and scrambled eggs. Today the coffee was particularly strong, just how he preferred it. Skull returned to eat from his plate, the bird seemed like a bottomless pit today, probably due to the fact that he had not eaten in a day.

"So how is the library coming along, Lena?" asked Minerva.

Lena smiled then. "It's nearly renovated, Minerva. Thanks to all the donations from the students and staff and some of the parents and alumni. Aunt Irma was very excited to hear that the Ministry was going to donate the funds that somehow became . . . misappropriated . . . as the Minister's secretary put it."

Severus frowned. "Misappropriated? Stolen, do they mean?"

"They didn't say that, but . . ."

"It's obvious that is what they meant, only would not admit to," Snape said. "That's very odd, when you think about it. A great deal of money like that, suddenly going missing, and they haven't made any attempt to track it? One would think . . . that someone high up in the Ministry ranks doesn't care to have the library restored."

"Nonsense, Severus!" Minerva said. "Now you're being paranoid, seeing conspiracies everywhere. Why wouldn't the Ministry want the library back? It's their children who will suffer if Hogwarts has no library."

"That might well be true," Severus conceded, but he sensed that he was not mistaken with his theory. Someone wanted the library to remain in a shambles and to Severus that meant one thing—they were hiding something, or trying to prevent information from being available to someone in the school. And he was determined to figure out just what the library had housed that someone was willing to break the law to keep hidden. Severus suspected it must be something either forbidden, like a spellbook of dark magic, or very rare and powerful, like an ancient text. He wondered if Irma might know, as she had been at the library for so long, she had memorized every book in the place. But then, if there was such a book, why was it not in the Restricted section? Unless it had been, and in the destruction, it had been removed from there? For his instincts were telling him the troll might have been sent not only to cause mayhem and hopefully kill Harry, but cause mayhem specifically in that area of the castle.

While Snape pondered possibilities, Harry slowly ate his breakfast. He was trying to recall what potion Snape had the class brewing yesterday, but he had been so terrified about losing Skull that nothing about the potion had registered. He turned to Hermione. "Hermione, what draft did we brew yesterday?"

Hermione paused in eating her cereal. "A Pepperup Potion. Why?"

"Oh. Because I have to brew it right after breakfast."

"But . . . it's Wednesday!" Ron sputtered. "Why would you . . .?"

"Make up work," Harry answered. "Since I missed yesterday's class."

Ron gaped. "Make up work! Snape's gone off the deep end!"

"Actually that's very thoughtful of him," disagreed Hermione.

"Very thoughtful! How can you say that?"

"Because he could've just given Harry a zero."

Harry nodded. "That's true." A month or two before the troll and that's what would have happened.

"It still sucks. I was going to go flying today with Fred and George." Ron lamented.

"Fly while I'm brewing," suggested Harry. "I can fly this afternoon, once I'm done with potions and helping in the library."

Ron gave him an incredulous look. "I don't believe it. The greasy git has corrupted you."

"Don't call him that. I don't mind working in the library. The more I help, the sooner it gets finished. Matter of fact, you could help too, Ron."

"Me too!" Hermione said.

Ron looked pained. "Me, spend a perfectly sunny morning in the library?"

"They have a whole section of Quidditch books," Harry persuaded.

Ron caved. "Oh, all right." Then he returned to eating his crispy potatoes.

Harry quickly finished his eggs and then the small amount of potatoes on his plate before drinking his Nutrient Draft. He knew that somehow Snape was monitoring what he ate as well as how much. It was annoying, but Harry supposed that was what a good parent did . . . except for the Dursleys, who allowed Dudley to eat whatever he wanted.

It took Harry half-an-hour to brew the Pepperup Potion, then once he had cleaned up his workstation and handed in his potion, he and the Potions Master headed up to the library to see what needed doing that morning. To Harry's shock, he saw Malfoy was there as well. "What's _he_ doing here?"

"Malfoy is here because he also wishes to help. I expect you to be civil to one another, am I clear?"

Harry groaned. "Yes, sir."

He spotted Hermione dusting a shelf and Ron wielding a normal broom like it was a Beater's bat.

Lena was at the circulation desk, stamping and tagging various volumes. She looked up as they approached. "Hello, Harry, Severus! Harry, would you like to shelve or dust?"

"I'll shelve," Harry said. He took an almost full cart and began to file.

Severus came and began helping the librarian tag books with a special charm that would make filing the books a whole lot easier. Most of the debris from the cracked stone and floor and furniture had been cleared away, and the library looked almost back to its old self, a thing which Severus and his students were profoundly grateful for. "You have repaired the damage very well, Lena. You are to be commended."

The librarian blushed. "It's not hard to do when you have the money to buy the raw materials and then can use magic to replace what's been broken with them. Aunt Irma and I are so very grateful for all of your help and the donations." Lena said, stamping a book with the Hogwarts crest. Because the damage to the library had been so vast, a simple Repairing Charm was not enough to fix it, the two librarians and Flitwick had needed to perform several Switching Charms, among other spells, to mend everything. Then too, with the amount of shelves, study carrols and chairs the troll had smashed, it simply wasn't practical to try and fix all of them with magic, so some of the money had gone into replacing them.

"I think . . . it looks better now than before," she said with a hint of pride.

"It does indeed. After all, the furnishings had previously been here for centuries. Now, nearly everything is new," Severus said.

"Including most of the books," Lena said happily. Then she glanced over to the far right corner of the library, where the battle with the troll had been fought. "I suppose we'll have to recarpet that section, since we can't seem to get the bloodstains out of the floor."

"Have you tried a combination of hydrogen peroxide and Magical Mess Remover?"

"Why, no. I never thought about mixing magical and Muggle cleaning agents," said the assistant librarian. "Will it work, do you think?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise," Snape replied, somewhat snarkily.

"Pardon me, _professor_, for questioning your expertise on floor cleaners," Lena shot back tartly.

Severus sighed. "Forgive me, Miss Rosario. I was out of line."

Both eyebrows went up then. "You actually apologized to me? I'm told that is a rare occurrence."

"I apologize only when I feel someone is deserving of it; if someone is acting like an idiot, I feel no qualms about telling them so, and I'm not the least bit sorry for it." Severus said honestly.

Lena smirked. "Well, at least you're honest. Apology accepted." She went back to stamping volumes. After a moment or two, she asked, "I know this is a rather personal question, so please forgive my curiosity, but . . .were you frightened when you saw the troll in the library? Why did you not go and fetch help?"

"There wasn't time. The troll was attacking Potter and it would have killed him if I hadn't distracted it. I was frightened, but not for myself. I was afraid I would be too late and the troll would have stomped Harry into the floor. I knew I was the only hope he had of remaining alive, and so I did what any responsible adult would have done and fought the troll."

"Most wizards would have saved their own necks first. I thought Slytherins were all about self-preservation."

"Some are, and some aren't. I am not one to rush in foolishly and risk my life recklessly. But when necessary, I can and will fight to defend my students, to the death if need be. You may call it courage if you like. I call it duty. I have been many things, Lena, some of them I am not proud of, but I do strive to keep my principles. I am not what you would call a typical Slytherin, or what most people assume is a typical Slytherin. I am not arrogant, or power-hungry, or out to get whatever I can by whatever means necessary. I am ambitious about my craft, but there are lines I will not cross, and the safety of my students comes first."

"You don't need to tell me that, Severus. I can see with my own two eyes just how protective you are of your ward and your Slytherins, even the troublesome ones, like Malfoy there."

"Malfoy can be an arrogant brat, but that is in part due to his father's influence. However, I am trying to change that attitude. Time will tell if I am successful. It is the same with Harry, who has a habit of rushing where angels fear to tread. If I can tame that impulsive streak, and keep him safe, I will count myself a decent guardian."

_And you care for him more than you will ever admit, _she thought. Her mind magics had made her more intuitive, and so she could sense what he refused to say—that he cared very much for both boys, perhaps even loved them, but was unused to expressing those emotions freely. She wondered what had happened to make him so guarded, so careful about revealing his heart. Perhaps he had suffered a great loss? Or even been rejected by one he loved? He was an enigma she wished desperately to solve, though she sensed that would take time. He was not one to give up his secrets easily. So instead she changed the topic to one that had been at the back of her mind for quite some time now.

"At the last meeting of the Society, we were discussing the possibility that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might have tried to make himself immortal in some way. Perhaps by necromancy? Or a powerful magical item, such as the one Nicholas Flamel the alchemist developed? The Headmaster had quite a bit to do with finding it and it is said that he benefited from making and drinking an elixir from it." Lena said in a very soft voice.

"It is always possible. His name, as you ought to know, means "one who fears death". That has always been his fatal flaw, along with his belief that purebloods are better than anyone else. With him, it is always best to expect the unexpected."

"Then you too believe that he may not be truly dead?"

"Yes. But it is not an opinion shared by many."

"The Society believes."

"I know. Because our members study the old magics, and know that it is possible to preserve a portion of one's mind and soul. That is what—" Severus broke off abruptly. "Mr. Potter, why are you lurking over there in the corner? I warn you, eavesdropping is not tolerated by me. Come here!"

A blushing Harry emerged from the corner behind Severus. "Sorry, sir. I was coming to ask you what I should do next and I didn't want to interrupt."

"What exactly did you hear?" Severus snapped, angry at both Harry and himself.

"Uh . . . something about an object that could make you immortal, a guy name Nicholas Flamel. Oh, and that V—"

"Don't say his name!" cried Severus.

"You-Know-Who might not be dead," Harry finished. "And you and some Society believe it. That's all, sir."

Severus' mouth tightened. "That is more than you should have heard. I want you to promise you won't repeat this to anyone."

"I promise, sir. But . . . what's the Society? Is it like a secret organization to kick the old bastard's arse?"

"Mr. Potter, language!" Severus scowled.

"Sorry. But he is."

Lena put a hand over her mouth. Harry reminded her of her brother on occasion. "It won't do them harm to know," she said, half to herself. "My mother told me about it when I was his age."

Severus still didn't look too happy about it, but before he could protest further, a large brown owl winged its way into the library and delivered a letter to him. Upon opening it, he found it was from Dumbledore. "Please excuse me, Lena. But the Headmaster has something important he wishes to speak with me about. We shall have to continue our discussion at another time."

"That's all right, Severus. One should strive to stay on the Headmaster's good side. If you want to talk some more, you know where to find me." Lena said, sounding a bit wistful. She had not had much time to get to know the staff since her arrival, having been busy trying to get the library back up to par, and she had never made friends easily, being by nature shy and withdrawn because of her mind magic. Severus, because he had spent the most time with her and was a member of the Society, she had begun to trust, and was sorry to see him go.

Severus rose and departed the library, looking quite put out.

Harry immediately took the seat next to the librarian, and said eagerly, "So, will you tell me about this Society now? Please, Lena?"

"Your guardian seems to prefer I not share any information with you, but just between you and me, I find him a tad, shall we say, overprotective." Mischief sparkled in her aqua eyes. "I see no reason why you and your friends here should not know about the Society of Ravens."

"The Society of Ravens?" Hermione had come to see what was being discussed, and was immediately intrigued. "I've never heard of them before. Are they some kind of new organization?"

"Great Ceridwen, no!" Lena laughed. "The Society has been around a very long time, since before this castle was ever built. Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the Founders, was a member. "

"A member of what?" Ron asked, wandering over. He sensed a story in the wind, and placed his broom against the wall and pulled up a chair.

"The Society of Ravens." Hermione replied.

"I've heard of them. My father says they're nothing but a bunch of batty old wizards and witches who study old outdated spellbooks and think they're so smart." Draco said dismissively.

Lena looked over at the blond boy, her eyes flashing, and said, "Your father would be Lucius Malfoy, correct?"

Draco nodded proudly. "He's the Minister's right hand. He's a very important man."

"In politics, no doubt. But his boss, Cornelius Fudge, has never been one to appreciate the Old Ways, he clings to the mediocre like a child to a mother's hand. And thus I'm not surprised that he gathers all the narrowminded purebloods to him. We of the Society believe that there is no one true way to use magic's gift, and we study branches of magic that were abandoned by conventional wizards because they were too difficult or time consuming to master, or the results were not . . . flashy enough for them."

"My father isn't narrowminded!" Draco snapped, glaring at the librarian.

Lena shot him a frown. "Declaring an organization dedicated to wisdom and knowledge a group of batty old wizards and witches simply because he does not follow the Old Ways is being narrowminded. I would also say he holds a grudge because he was never invited to join."

"Why would he want to join your stupid club anyhow?" sneered Draco.

"Why don't you ask him? For now, Mr. Malfoy, I ask that you be silent and listen, otherwise you may leave." Lena said coldly.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Draco began, his tone just shy of pure insolence. "You're not even on the faculty here."

"Shut it, Malfoy!" Ron cried angrily. "She's a librarian here and an adult, and if she wants she can kick your arse right out of the library!"

"Oh, yeah? Says who? Your mum?"

"Mr. Malfoy," said a sharp voice. "If you cannot remember to be quiet in the library, you are going to serve detention with me tonight and I shall see if your memory returns after writing a four foot essay for me about respecting my niece and the rules of the library." They all spun about to see Madam Pince standing there, eyeing Malfoy with a frown. "For your information, boy, I intend to make Lena my permanent assistant, which means she shall draw pay like any other staff member and be able to take points and give detention as well to smug little brats like you. Now, what shall it be? An essay or an apology for behaving like a rude beast?"

Draco scowled, his face heating. At that moment he hated both librarians as well as all the Gryffindors for witnessing his humiliation. But he was not stupid, and so he opted for the apology, which he offered in a rather whiny tone. Then he sat down in a plush armchair he dragged over, his lower lip sticking out in a pout. He was sure whatever Lena had to say would be so boring it would put him to sleep.

"Carry on then, Lena." Irma said, returning to organizing the books upon the cart and then shelving them with a spell.

Lena gave Irma a nod and a grateful look before clearing her throat. "Now then, as I was saying, the Society of Ravens has its roots back when the Celts first settled here and claimed this island for their own. Long before Hogwarts and even before Merlin and Arthur Pendragon, the Society was founded by learned men and women in Wales, or Cymru. Some of these were not witches or wizards, but came from families who had the gift, but one of the greatest wizards of that age joined them, and his name was Gwydion of Don. He was apprentice to another great Welsh wizard, Mathonwy, or Math, who taught him one of the Great Words of Power. Back in those days, wizards and witches, or enchantresses as they were often called, were respected and feared by the local Muggles. Muggles often sought out our services when gravely ill or in need of help for personal problems, like disputes over land and inheritance. It was believed that a true wizard or enchantress could not lie, and so our judgments were trusted to be fair. Unless you were of the Dark. Gwydion especially was known for his impartial judgment, and his legend grew in proportion. A few Welsh bards began to make up stories about him and some of these have been passed down and collected in a volume of Welsh mythology called The Mabinogian."

Here, Lena waved her wand and a book popped up on her lap. "This is one of the original handwritten copies of The Mabinogian, it has been preserved with magic, and you may read it in your free time. There are many tales of Gwydion and Math in here, some are true, some are mere fancy, or half-true, since it is the mark of a true bard to embroider the story somewhat and make it their own. It's a fascinating work. The Welsh are great lovers of stories, poetry, and music, and the magical arts flourished there for centuries before the invasion of the Saxons and Vikings and Normans. They do to this very day. I myself have connections on my mother's side to Welsh enchantresses. The Old Ways are very much alive there, and that is where the Society was first founded.

"Part of the reason for this was to preserve certain magical traditions, like elemental magic and divination and the magics of the mind, which were in danger of being forgotten. It was also to collect certain items of Power and preserve knowledge that would have been lost. We are scholars and historians as well as spellcasters. We took as our symbol the Raven, because out of all animals, the Raven is associated with wisdom, knowledge, prophecy and magic."

She flipped over a fold of her robe to reveal a stylized pin made of ebony and gold. It was of a raven in flight, clutching a scroll in its claws. "This pin means that I am a member of the Society, and if you ever see one like it upon another wizard or witch, it means they are dedicated to the highest level of learning and scholarship and can be trusted to have accurate information about esoteric magics and objects. The pin cannot be counterfeited by magic and cannot be worn by one who is of the dark. We are also one of the foremost groups against wielders of the Shadow, and swear an oath to fight them wherever we shall find them."

Hermione was waving her hand in the air. Lena gestured for her to speak. "So did the Society fight in the First Wizard War against You-Know-Who?"

"We did indeed. Many fought and died before the Dark Deceiver met his end. I believe that your mother, Harry, was a student of the old magic, which could be why you survived the Killing Curse. Either that or you possess a great aptitude for the old magic, and that is what enabled you to survive."

Harry hesitated a moment before saying, "Skull calls me _bran-boy_ sometimes."

"Does he? How very interesting," the librarian murmured, eyeing him keenly.

"Huh? He calls you cereal?" Ron frowned.

"Weasley, you're an idiot!" Draco sneered.

Lena shot him a look. "Mocking another for their ignorance, Mr. Malfoy, makes you twice the fool. There is no shame in admitting you don't know something, only shame if you allow yourself to wallow in ignorance." She turned to Ron. "Ron, the word _bran_ in Welsh means raven. Skullduggery was calling Harry raven-boy, a rare thing. Ravens are choosy about whom they associate with. Consider yourself honored."

"Lena, can anyone join the Society?"

"Yes, we make no distinctions of class or race. However, an initiate must be sponsored by a full member, and pass a series of tests as well. There are tests of knowledge, honor, fortitude, wisdom, and magical prowess. A Society member is required to do a great deal of research and study various Mugg_l_e myths and legends as well as wizarding ones."

"Why even bother studying Muggle myths?" Draco asked condescendingly. "What good can come of that?"

"Much good, Draco. Muggles are not the ignorant barbarians many purebloods paint them. There is much to respect about their culture and the myths and legends they invented helped a great deal to fostering acceptance and tolerance of magic."

"But Muggles are inferior to wizards!" objected the Slytherin.

Lena shook her head. "No. They are not. They may not have magic's gift, but they are as worthy of respect as any human being. Their knowledge is of a different kind, but different is not inferior. Learning to accept others and celebrate their differences is one of the tenets of the Society. Back before books and writing was invented, stories were the only way Muggles and wizards had of communicating important information. Myths were used as a teaching tool, often to explain the unexplainable, like why the sun rose and set, or how an animal became the way that it is. In Greek mythology, for instance, it is said that the raven was not black, but white in its first incarnation. It was used as a messenger by Apollo, and he sent it to keep an eye upon a certain woman he fancied. When the raven reported back and told the god that the woman no longer desired him and had run off with a mortal, Apollo cursed the raven for being the bearer of bad news and from that day, the raven has been black."

"That's just dumb," Draco sneered.

"In your opinion. In mine, it shows that the Greeks were associating the raven with being a messenger and the bearer of ill omens, two things which a raven is generally known for today. Ravens are respected as being intelligent and wise, by Muggle and wizard alike. There is an old Gaelic saying "there is wisdom in a raven's head", and that is true. Ravens have a rich mythological history, which all initiates are required to study. Ravens are sacred in both wizarding and Muggle culture, it is bad luck to hurt and especially kill one. I know several stories about Raven. How would you like to hear some?"

"That would be lovely!" Hermione grinned.

"Sure!" said Ron.

"Yes, please, Lena." Added Harry.

Draco shrugged. "It's not like I have something better to do."

"So we begin—thus." Lena said, her voice taking on a more formal cant. "In Welsh mythology the raven is the messenger, the sacred bird of Bran the Blessed, the wise counselor, who warns of enemies and accompanies the Morrigan, the Celtic Goddess of War, upon the battlefield. A raven is the most magical of birds, being able to cross between worlds. It can bear a soul to the Underworld upon its wings, and knows many secrets, which it will only reveal to the right person at the right time. In Norse lore, Odin AllFather keeps two ravens as informants, gathering information everywhere as his eyes and ears. Their names are Hugin and Munin, or Thought and Memory.

In the myths of Native America, Raven is revered as a deity and it is from there that I shall tell my first tale. This is the story of how Raven Created Man and Woman, it comes from the Tlinglit and Haida tribes. Raven was bored in the realm of the spirits, and so decided to travel to earth to see what he could see that would amuse him. Raven had always had an insatiable appetite, and soon paused over the ocean to find food. He dove into the ocean and found some clam beds which were huge, and poked his beak into them. One of them held some odd-looking creatures that walked on two legs instead of four and Raven drew them from the sea and began to talk to them. The men imitated the raven's sounds and in no time were talking amongst themselves. Raven taught them how to fish and to live off the land and for awhile was content, until he decided that men needed something else. So he flew over the land until he discovered some women trapped in a chiton. He carried them to the men and spent many months teaching them many skills including that of magic. Once he was satisfied they had learned enough, he flew away, but he always returns with a new trick or skill to share with human beings."

Everyone clapped when she was through.

"There is also a tale of how Raven Steals the Sun and brings many useful things to mankind." Lena continued. "_Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water._

_Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse._

_When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and Stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen._

_He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out._

_Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird._

As you can see, Raven is both Creator and Trickster, and helps more than harms. There is no bird cleverer than a raven, or as mysterious. He can be both sarcastic and amusing, or annoying as hell.

"You all know Skullduggery, Professor Snape's familiar, and know both of his penchant for pranks and mimicry. But like every raven born, especially the Greater Tower Raven, he is also the Keeper of Mysteries and Secrets, and a Guide to the Underworld. He is a wise old bird, and if you ask respectfully, he may share his wisdom and knowledge of the old magic with you."

"Has he shared anything with you yet?" asked Harry.

"No, for I have not had time to ask," Lena admitted. "Perhaps when the library is fully functional, I shall. I am sure that he has plenty to share."

Draco snorted, for he still bore no love for the raven after being the butt of tricks.

"If any of you would like to read more about ravens in myths and legends, here is a book for you to borrow called _Ravens in World Mythology_." Lena Summoned a second book. "If you would like to borrow _The Mabinogian_ as well, you may do so, but please treat this volume with utmost care, as it is very old and rare. You may also like Edgar Allen Poe, a famous American author, he was fascinated by ravens and wrote a famous poem entitled "The Raven". "

"Oh! I've read that one! It was very inspiring . . . and creepy. Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Lena." Hermione said, prompting the rest of her classmates, even sulky Draco, to do the same.

"You are most welcome. Perhaps you may come here every Wednesday and I can share some more stories with you, there are loads about Raven in both Muggle and wizarding tales, and other tales of magical cloaks and items you may be interested in."

All of them agreed to return next Wednesday, for all of them had a love of a well told tale in common.

Harry borrowed _The Mabinogian_, he had always enjoyed reading mythology, and to his everlasting shock, Malfoy borrowed the book on raven myths.

As they filed out of the library for lunch, Madam Pince hurried over to her niece wearing a knowing smirk and asked, "Lena, dear, are you fishing for potential initiates again? I'll admit, some of those children, especially Granger and Potter would do well as initiates. Even Weasley and Malfoy show potential. Though young Malfoy needs a major attitude adjustment."

"Perhaps, Aunt Irma." Lena said with an enigmatic smile. "Perhaps."

**A/N: All of the stories about Ravens and information on them was taken from Wikipedia "Raven in mythology" and the stories about Gwydion can be found in Welsh mythology on Wikipedia as well. **

**I felt that Welsh mythology was overlooked in the original series and will be introducing more of it as this story unfolds. Hope you all liked!**

**Just had a banner made for this story, check my profile under Common Interests to see it!**


	15. The Other Side of Severus Snape

**15**

**The Other Side of Severus Snape**

**A/N: Some of my reviewers have complained that they never got the alert for the previous chapter. So, if you were one of them, please go back and read it before this one and please review it too! Thank you!**

It had been two weeks since Lena had introduced the children to the Society of Ravens, and the young librarian had kept their interest by telling them many tales, not only about Raven, but also the ancient Welsh myths, about Bran the Blessed and Llew the Fair, powerful warriors who followed a code of honor, but who had been tutored by their sorcerer kin and so were comfortable with magic as well as swords.

She told them the story of Blodewedd, or "Flowerface" who was a woman created by magic, using nine different kinds of wildflowers, by the great sorcerers Math and Gwydion for Gwydion's nephew Llew. Llew was under a series of magical bindings by his powerful mother Ariarhod, and one of them was that he could never have a human wife, so Blodewedd was created to circumvent that condition. However, what the two sorcerers failed to realize was that Blodewedd might have been fair, but she lacked the heart and fidelity of a human woman. She was a good wife to Llew for a few months, but then when he left her was swayed by the promises of his enemy, who convinced her to betray her husband. She persuaded him to tell her his deepest secret, how he could be killed, for he had many protections about him. Then she conspired with his enemy to do so, and the fickle-hearted woman nearly succeeded. Near death, Llew transforms into an eagle and flies away, Gwydion tracks him and saves the gravely injured young man from death using knowledge he had gained from many years of study of the Healing Arts. Then he hunted down Blodewedd and transformed her into an owl forever more as punishment. He cursed her with the following saying, "You shall never dare show your face in the light of day again, and as consequences all other birds will shun and harass you wherever they find you. Darkness shall be your companion, but you shall keep your name, Blodewedd, so that all may know and remember your fickle heart!" In Welsh, the name for owl is Blodewedd, and owls do have a face that resembles an opened flower.

"Does that mean the Welsh believe that owls are fickle creatures?" asked Hermione when the tale was done.

"No, of course not!" Lena shook her head. "It's simply an interesting way of explaining why an owl has the face that it does. But the real meat of the tale is the fact that men, even wizards with the best intentions, should not attempt to play God and create a woman, for all we can do, even with magic is a poor imitation, and you can see where that led. It was a sharp lesson that Gwydion and Math learned. Can any of you tell me what that was?"

Hermione of course raised her hand, but Lena turned and called on Harry. "Go on, Harry."

"Umm . . . that even if you have the power to do something, it doesn't mean you should. You need to think before you act."

"Very good! That's a lesson that all the powerful wizards and witches need to remember. It is not enough to wield magic, but to do so responsibly. And as you know, there was one wizard who has forgotten that lesson, and who made others suffer because of it."

"You-Know-Who," Ron whispered.

"Correct, Ron. Power such as his can be deadly, especially when wielded by a proud and arrogant sorcerer who has no respect for rules and morals. We of the Society strive to teach our apprentices that knowledge and pride do not go together, though some knowledge must be kept locked away, for there are those who will use it for their own ends. That's why we have the Restricted Section of the library."

"Are the books in there really _that_ dangerous?" Draco queried with a faint sneer in his voice.

Lena eyed him and said sharply, "Yes, Draco, they are. There are spellbooks in that section with wards on them that could fry your brain were you to glance at a page. There are others which could burn your fingers off if you touch the cover and still others that will suck you within the pages and trap you for a hundred years. Many of those books bear spells of darkness within them, or spells and enchantments too draining for any young wizard to cast."

"Then why have them here?" asked Hermione.

"Because here they are safe from those who would misuse them. And there is some knowledge in them that can be useful in the right hands." The librarian answered. "But you shouldn't concern yourself with those books, Hermione. They are nothing that a young witch needs to traffic with at your age."

"Lena, you said that the Society has magical objects," Ron asked. "Where do you keep them? Do you have your own library or something?"

"Yes. The library is hidden from all save full members with keys, and the magical items we have collected are tagged and stored in a magical vault, only accessible to the Ravenmaster or Ravenmistress. You need their permission to study the collection and nothing is ever allowed outside the vault."

"Is the vault in Gringotts?" was Ron's next question.

"I cannot answer that," Lena told him. "Only Society members know where the vault is hidden, and we are pledged to never reveal its location."

"Have you ever been in it?" asked Harry.

"Once or twice. Every initiate is required to study an item as part of their training."

"Are there stuff like Cerridwen's Cauldron in there?" Harry had read about the magical cauldron in _The Mabinogian_.

"What kind of cauldron?" Draco frowned.

"It's the cauldron of the goddess Cerridwen, she's the goddess of battle and death. Legend says that if you throw a dead body into it, it'll get resurrected and be able to fight forever and never feel pain and never grow tired." Harry explained.

"Yes, but those who are Cauldron-Born cannot speak and it is said that they have lost their souls, for theirs is no true rebirth, but a half-life only," Lena added. "It is a terrible thing, to use the cauldron for such means."

"But . . . with something like that you could create an undefeatable army," Draco cried, his eyes glowing as he imagined leading such an army.

"True, but you would also break the Balance between Life and Death itself," Lena said sharply. "It's been tried before, young Malfoy, and those who have used the cauldron for ill were boiled alive in it once they were caught."

"How horrible!" Hermione gasped.

"Back then it was considered justice," Lena said. "But Cerridwen's cauldron was not always an item of evil. It could serve up an endless feast for however many guests came knocking on one's door, and brew cauldronsful of mead and other drinks. It could also heal the sick, and when filled with pure water, could be used to scry as well. Often a magical item such as that has many uses, but it only takes one evil-minded wizard to turn the good into bad."

"Where is the cauldron now? Did it really exist?"

"Yes, it does. But where it now lies only the ravens know." Lena answered enigmatically.

Harry wondered if Skullduggery knew. As if his thoughts had summoned the raven, Skull flew into the library, circled the group, and called, "Mistress Bard, 'tis time to let thy students fill thy bellies. For no mind retains knowledge upon an empty stomach."

"Hello, Skullduggery," Lena called up at the raven. "Might I have a word with you later?"

"I would love to stay and chat, however . . . my wizard is held hostage by homework and needs me to keep him from exploding . . ." Skull puffed up his neck feathers, making him look like a feathered ball, and a sound came from his beak remarkably like an explosion. "But I shall return and speak with you anon!"

With that, he fluttered off towards the entrance.

"Anon? What kind of word is that?" Ron looked confused.

"An old-fashioned one," Hermione answered. "Like they used back in Shakespeare's time."

"Who's he?"

Hermione stared at him. "You've never heard of _Shakespeare_! What school did you go to that you don't know about the Bard, England's most famous playwright and poet?"

"It's not his fault, Hermione. He wasn't raised Muggle like we were," Harry put in.

"I wasn't either and I know who Shakespeare was," Malfoy put in smugly.

"Oooh! Well, aren't you the brainbox, Malfoy?" Ron glared at the other boy.

"Stuff your hat in it, Weasley," Draco scowled, then he stalked from the library.

"Prat!" muttered Ron, before he too left, followed by Harry and Hermione.

Lena shook her head before rising and beginning to alphabetize the books in the new section of the library, upon a revolving shelf, which were all marked with the blazon of a raven flying. The shelf was home to some of the Society of Ravens collection of mythology and history, both magical and Muggle, and contained over a hundred volumes at the present time. They were meant for everyone to read and learn from, in hopes that it might foster cooperation between wizard and Muggle as well as interest in the Society. But so far only the Ravenclaws had checked out any of the books, save for Hermione, Harry, and Draco.

Still, perhaps the students would take more interest in the new books once their end of term exams were over. She straightened, brushing a tendril of honey-colored hair out of her eyes. The library was almost restored, and she looked forward to the day when every volume was shelved and the library fully functional once more.

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

_That evening_

_Snape's quarters:_

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting about a low table, their textbooks, notebooks, quills, and parchment scattered across the table top. All three had wished to study in the quiet of Snape's quarters, the Gryffindor common room was much too loud and boisterous, since several of their older Housemates were more interested in betting on a cutthroat game of Wizard Chess or playing practical jokes than studying. Harry and Hermione had convinced Ron to come with them, despite the chess tournament, because they needed him to help them with Transfiguration, at least Harry did, and he also needed their help with Charms and Potions. Hermione was a decent all-around student, but she really shone in Charms, and Harry was excellent in potions, a fact which made his guardian very proud.

Severus was sitting at his desk, struggling to grade a batch of second-year homework without taking a quill and totally crossing out whole paragraphs where students had simply made up the properties of ingredients rather than read the text. When he looked over at the three, he was relieved to see Hermione demonstrating the wand movements for a Color Change spell, and the boys scribbling down notes and then copying her.

There came a knock on the door.

"Enter."

The door to his quarters opened to admit Malfoy.

"What is it, Draco?" asked Snape.

"Professor, I was just wondering if I could study in here?" Then his eyes widened as he caught sight of the three Gryffindors. "Hey, what are they doing in here? Is it some kind of detention?"

"No, they are studying, like you wish to, Draco." Severus replied.

Ron looked up and groaned. "Aww, Merlin! Don't tell me _Malfoy's_ going to join us?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Weasley?" Draco bristled. "I'm a better student in Defense than all of you, I'd bet!"

"Enough!" Severus' voice was soft, but there was steel in it. "Mr. Weasley, I am the one who decides who is free to study in my quarters. Mr. Malfoy may stay, so long as he agrees to abide by the rules." He fastened a stern look at his Slytherin. "The rules are as follows, you are here to study, not to cause trouble. There will be no insulting, no snide comments, no hexing another student, and no fistfights. If you are rude or disruptive and I have to speak to you about it more than once, I shall throw you out of my quarters by the seat of your trousers, no excuses. And there will be no second chances. You are all old enough to know better and share a common interest in studying and improving your marks on your exams."

Draco's eyes widened. "You're not serious! You wouldn't really throw us out?"

Severus frowned at him. "I mean what I say, Malfoy. If you would like a firsthand demonstration, by all means test me."

Draco gulped. "No, sir."

"Very well then. Go and join the others. I will be grading, so you will refrain from any loud voices. If you need help, you may ask me quietly." He then turned and sat down at his desk, eying the mountain of paperwork with a resigned scowl.

Draco joined the other three at the table, ignoring Ron's unwelcome glare and Harry's scowl and Hermione's sigh. "What are you working on?"

"Charms. Hermione's showing us a Color Change Charm," answered Harry.

"I already know that one." Draco sniffed.

"Who asked you?" Ron growled.

"Just saying." The Slytherin pulled out his Defense text. "My father would sack Quirrell if he knew how little I actually learned in Defense this year. He was so useless!"

The others murmured in agreement.

"It's a good thing I actually learned a few things about defense before coming here," Draco said.

"Like what?" asked Harry.

"Like a Shield Charm."

"Oh! I've read about them!" Hermione cried.

" Brilliant, Granger!" drawled Draco. "But I've actually _cast_ a Shield Charm."

"Could you show us?" the witch asked.

"I could . . . if you'll teach me how to cast an Unlocking Charm?" the Slytherin bargained.

"I will," Hermione agreed.

"All right. Wands out and follow me . . ."

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

"Well, that's the last of the lot," Irma said, waving her wand over the pile of books upon the circulation cart. They immediately alphabetized themselves and arranged themselves on the cart according to section.

The elder librarian stifled a yawn and prepared to roll the cart over to the shelves and begin shelving, since the automatic shelving system did not kick in until twelve o'clock, when the library was closed. She rubbed the back of her neck, it had grown stiff from bending over to shelve books on the very bottom shelf. Most students thought all the shelving was done by magic, and a good deal of it was, with books that were not very old and delicate or having special charms upon them. This last cart, however, contained rare volumes and two or three books from the Restricted Section that Professor Dumbledore and Quirrell had borrowed. Thus, they required human hands to reshelve.

Madam Pince rubbed her glasses, thinking that it grew harder every year for her to keep such late hours. Her body cried out for rest now around ten o'clock. She was reaching for a book, while thinking longingly of a warm bed and a cup of peppermint tea, when her niece said, "Aunt Irma, why don't you turn in? I'll finish up here."

"No need to coddle me, my girl. I'm perfectly capable of shelving these last volumes," Irma said defensively, wondering if it were that obvious that she was getting old.

"I know you are, but sometimes it's good to take a break," Lena persuaded. "You were in meetings all day with that stuffy Minister of Archives, Barry Troutwieler, I'm sure your head is pounding from trying to keep your temper around the old windbag."

"You can say that again!" Irma snorted. "Still, I'm hardly in my dotage."

"Of course not, but you did make me your assistant and what's an assistant for except to do some disagreeable tasks every now and again, like staying up late shelving while you get an extra hour of sleep?"

"Hmm . . . you do have a point . . ." Madam Pince conceded. "Oh, very well. That's what assistants are for. This once, I shall let you finish up. Here's the key for the Restricted Section. Do you know how to deactivate the wards on the shelves?"

"Yes," she took the silvery key from her aunt. "You showed me that two days ago." Lena hung the key about her neck. "Good night, Aunt Irma."

The aging librarian yawned. "Good night, Lena dear. Don't stay up all night researching some obscure spell." Then she waved and left, heading across the hall to her quarters.

Lena hummed, reveling in the smell of old parchment, leather, and ink. She carefully walked back to the Restricted Section, which had now been separated from the rest of the library by a large scrollwork-edged door with a small window set in it and a wall. She inserted the key and entered, closing the door behind her. Rows and rows of books, some with crumbling spines, others that looked newly minted, were shelved here. All of them shimmered to Lena's Mage Sight with ambient magic.

She set her hand upon the first shelf and muttered the word to give her access to the shelves, so the wards would not react to her placing books on the shelf. She carefully shelved an old book which contained several treatises on ways to extend your life span and another about Nicholas Flamel's great discovery of the Sorcerer's Stone and its alchemical properties.

Once that was done, she re-set the wards and left the Restricted Section. The door automatically locked behind her. She Summoned the cart with a wave of her wand, and began to finish the rest of the hub. It was nearly nine, curfew for the first years. It was then that she heard it, a soft sniffling.

Frowning, she cocked her head. "Hello?"

She heard a slight scuffling sound coming from the far right hand corner, where the lamps were dimmest. She hurried over to investigate, fearing a rat or mouse had found its way into the library. She had her wand out, a Repelling Charm on her lips, prepared to eject the rodent from her library with all haste. She detested rats, like most women, and almost all librarians, who regarded them as enemies for they ate parchment and books. But what she found when she rounded the corner was no rat.

It was a rather plump Gryffindor first year, huddled on the floor inbetween a bookshelf and a comfy chair, sobbing into his hands. An open book titled _Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger _lay next to him.

For one moment, Lena just stared at the distraught student. Then she cleared her throat and said softly, "Surely, it can't be as bad as all that."

The boy nodded, not looking up. "Yes, it can. If I fail potions, my gran will . . . she'll pull me out of Hogwarts . . .she n'Uncle Algia already think I'm a Squib . . ."

Lena knelt next to him. "Oh, I doubt that. You wouldn't be able to cast even small spells if you were a Squib. Just ask Mr. Filch."

"Y'mean, he's one?" Slowly, the boy peeked at her from behind his knees.

"Yes, but you mustn't tell anyone. It'll be our secret," Lena said quickly, only then realizing her mistake. Filch would skewer her if he knew she had told his secret to a student.

"All right." The boy whispered. But then he sniffled again.

"Here." Lena handed him a blue handkerchief. "Now then, suppose you tell me your name and why you think you are going to fail potions?"

"M-My name's Neville Longbottom and I'm going to fail potions because I can't brew anything right. All my cauldrons melt and explode every time and Professor Snape hates me. He thinks I'm hopeless!" Neville wailed. "I . . .I just can't seem to . . . concentrate and . . .and when he hovers over me . . .I just . . .he glares at me and I just go all to pieces. . ."

"Neville, are you afraid of Professor Snape?"

The boy nodded miserably.

Lena frowned. "Why? Has he ever harmed you? Struck you? Hexed you?"

"N-no. He's just . . . _looked_ at me. Like he was disgusted. And he wanted to . . . to use me for potions ingredients. Fred and George said he . . . does that sometimes . . .and that's why some students disappear during his detentions . . ." Neville's eyes were round with horror.

"Oh, good heavens!" Lena sighed. "Neville, listen to me. I know that Professor Snape can be very intimidating, but I doubt if he would ever do anything to truly harm a student, like you describe. He would not have remained a teacher at this school if he were given to . . . murdering students each year. I believe Fred and George were having you on."

"Y'mean, they made it up?"

"Yes. Are they older than you?"

"Uh huh. They're the Weasley twins, two years older than me."

"Ah. I thought as much. They were trying to trick you, Neville. I assure you, Professor Snape doesn't chop up his students or eat them for breakfast."

"He gave me a detention for blowing up my cauldron for the fifth time and he m-made me gut some horned toads. It was . . .disgusting. The smell nearly made me puke."

"I see. Well, that's not so surprising. My Potions Master also made students who misbehaved or didn't pay attention harvest and chop up disgusting ingredients also. Or scrub twenty cauldrons or clean up the floor with a scrub brush and a bucket of water."

"Did you ever get one?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Lena admitted. "I tended to be very talkative in class."

"Oh."

"What kind of things are you having problems with in potions?" she asked then. "Perhaps I can help a bit. I was a decent potion maker in school." Lena said modestly.

"I . . well . . . sometimes I forget how to chop stuff and . . . and how many stirs to give it and then I missed a step when we made the Boil Cure and put my porcupine quills in before I took the cauldron off the fire and it melted . . .the professor makes me nervous, the way he walks about all scowling and then he hovers over my shoulder and I . . .knock things over . . .if I don't pass, Gran will be so disappointed and she'll probably tell me I need a tutor and I really don't want to go home . . . I kind of like it here . . . I've even made some friends . . ."

Lena felt sorry for the child, he was so obviously stressed and terrified of disappointing his grandmother, and his professor as well. "Neville, it seems like you have a bit of potions anxiety. Perhaps you'd do better with some extra lessons in potions, one on one, just you and Professor Snape."

"Extra lessons . . .with Snape . . ." Neville looked as if he were about to pass out.

"Yes. Perhaps alone, you can concentrate better, and the professor will be able to pinpoint where you're having trouble and correct it before it gets to the explosion stage. Sometimes tutoring a student is the best way to help them."

"But . . .Professor Snape would never . . . give me extra lessons . . ."

"Have you ever asked him?"

"No, but . . .I don't think he would . . ."

"You'll never know unless you ask. I'm sure you're not the only student he's had who's blown up a cauldron every class. Why don't we go and ask him now if he would be willing to give you some extra tutoring?"

"Oh, no, ma'am! Please! I don't want to be any trouble."

Lena stared at the white-faced boy. "All right. Calm down, Neville. If you don't feel comfortable asking him, than I shall." She patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll sort this out. You're not going to fail potions. I would go over your homework with you tonight, but it's almost curfew and you need to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Do you have potions tomorrow?"

"Yes. In the morning."

"Good. I shall speak with Professor Snape afterwards." Lena told him, helping him up. That way she could also observe the class and see the reason why Neville reacted the way he did towards Snape.

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

At eight-thirty, Severus dismissed the study group, saying that two-and-a-half hours was plenty of time to study for that night. "You may return tomorrow and study some other subjects if you wish."

"Could you help us with History of Magic next time, sir?" asked Draco, smothering a yawn. "Because all we learn in that class is how to fall asleep faster."

"Binns is so boring!" groaned Harry.

Severus' mouth twitched. "Yes, I am well aware of his soporific tendencies. He taught History of Magic when I was a student here as well. I shall give you some pointers next time. Although one of the most important pieces of advice I can offer you is to tell you that the evening before your exam it is important that you get a decent amount of sleep, and no cramming beforehand. Sleep will cause your body and brain to be alert, and an alert mind remembers things easily. It is also important to eat a proper breakfast, and by that I mean something that contains the four food groups, not just sugar." Here he eyed Harry and Ron, knowing they tended to eat sweets before eggs, toast, and fruit.

Ron rolled his eyes and muttered, "What is it with adults and breakfast? My mum was always on us to eat breakfast too."

"Breakfast, Weasley, jump starts your metabolism and wakes up your brain." Snape answered.

Hermione was nodding. "Breakfast is an important meal, Ron. Studies show that kids who ate breakfast before a test performed better than those that didn't. By about 80%."

"Miss Granger is correct. Now, all of you return to your common rooms, it's nearly curfew. Mr. Potter, stay for a moment, I need to speak with you."

Harry waved at his friends to go on, knowing that Snape would walk him back if it grew too late. The other students departed. "Did I do something wrong, sir?" he asked, looking up at the tall professor.

"Guilty conscience, Harry?"

"No, but . . . usually when you ask a student to stay after class it's because you're about to kick their arse."

"If I were, as you put it, 'about to kick your arse', you would most assuredly know of it beforehand." Severus said dryly. "I wished to discuss setting a ward about your belongings and bed in Gryffindor Tower. I know Professor McGonagall has probably warded the dormitory, but it never hurts to set extra ones. I find that ones I have set myself are usually more effective than ones others have done for me, and best you learn how to defend yourself now."

"That makes sense. All right, I'm ready, Severus."

"This is a standard Repelling Charm, but instead of using it on a specific person, you'll need to make the ward an all-purpose charm that will repel anything which doesn't belong in your bed or on your belongings," Severus explained. "The wand motion you use is this . . ."

He spent ten minutes coaching Harry on setting the ward, making sure the boy could cast the charm correctly before finally dismissing him. "Has anyone attempted to do anything to your bed or belongings since that night?"

"No. But somebody did dump my bookbag out on the floor and spilled all my ink and broke my quills," Harry admitted. "That happened yesterday."

"Put the ward over your bag as well. I trust you have sufficient ink and quills for tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir. McGonagall—I mean Professor McGonagall—got me some more from the supply closet."

Severus nodded, then said, "Off to bed with you. You have potions tomorrow morning and I don't want you sleeping in front of your cauldron."

"Good night, Sev," he gave the Potions Master a cheeky grin and a quick hug before scampering out the door.

The Potions Master rubbed his eyes, which burned from so long staring down at the batch of sorry essays his second years had turned in. He had managed to finish grading both their homework and the first years, but still had his other classes to mark, as well as detention essays that some of his House had earned for trashing the common room the previous night during an unauthorized parchment ball war. He considered staying up to finish them, but then decided to take his own advice for once and get a decent amount of rest.

Skullduggery tapped at the door, and Snape opened it to admit the raven. "You're back. All quiet, my friend?" he queried the bird, who perched upon his shoulder.

"As the grave, Sev," Skull answered in a sepulchral tone, stretching his neck for a scratch from the long fingers. "Not a creature was stirring . . .except Mrs. Norris and the mouse she caught."

"Good." He had been sending the raven out on short patrols about the castle, trying to see if he spotted anything odd in the behavior of the staff. He was almost certain that there was a spy in the school, feeding information to the Dark Lord's allies. "Now I can sleep."

Only for some reason he found it difficult to rest that night and tossed and turned, his mind still wakeful.

"Shall I sing you a lullaby, Sev?" crooned the raven from atop the headboard. "Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop, when the wind blows—"

"Skull, enough," rebuked the wizard mildly.

"Don't like that one? How about—Now I lay me down to sleep—"

"Skullduggery, you are the most annoying bird," grumbled Severus.

"But you love me anyway, don't you?"

"Right now I wish you would shut up."

The raven was silent for about two seconds, then he began to snore loudly, imitating Dumbledore.

"Skull, go to _sleep_!" snarled the Potions Master. He picked up a quill and threw it at the raven.

Skullduggery dodged it and stopped snoring.

Severus turned over and buried his face in the pillow. Morning came too swiftly as it was.

Above him, the raven hissed, "Fear not, my wizard. I shall keep watch."

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

Severus finished grading the samples of the first-years and was banishing those that were unusable while trying to massage the headache out of his eyeballs. Today he had tried something different, instead of having the class all brew the same draft, he had divided the class into those who had a talent for brewing and those who did not, and given them different drafts to brew. The talented section brewed a Cough Elixir, the average section brewed a PepperUp Potion. By doing so he hoped to minimize the number of accidents from the average students, like Crabbe, Goyle, Weasley, and Longbottom. It would also challenge the better students and keep them sharp. The class had gone fairly well, Longbottom had not melted another cauldron, though that was only because Snape had been breathing down his neck for the first twenty minutes during the prep stage. The boy's potion had turned out adequate, the first such since the beginning of term. Snape wondered if it were a miracle.

He tucked the homework he had collected into his satchel and was heading out of the classroom to his office when he encountered Lena. "Is there something I can assist you with, Lena?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. May I speak to you privately, Severus?" she asked, her manner crisp and firm.

"Certainly. Come into my office." He led her into his office, he had about an hour before his third year class began. He shut the door and cast a Privacy ward over the room, just in case prying students tried to listen in on their conversation. He set down his satchel and seated himself. "What is it you wished to discuss? More Society business? Or is this about the library?"

Lena coughed and looked rather uncomfortable. "Neither. It's actually about a student of yours. You see, I found him in a corner of the library last night, crying his eyes out, almost hysterical. He told me his name was Neville Longbottom and he was terrified he was going to fail potions this term. He said if that happened, his grandmother would think he was a Squib and pull him out of Hogwarts. I tried to reassure him, I told him to come and ask you for extra tutoring, but he seemed terrified of you, Severus."

Severus scowled. Longbottom again! The boy was like a millstone about his neck. "Lena, the boy has a very nervous disposition. He's scared of his own shadow. If you're implying that I have harmed the boy in any way—" his eyes flashed.

"No, not intentionally, but . . . you can be very intimidating, Severus." She stated, looking him in the eye.

"Yes, what of it? I cannot afford to be anything other than strict with my students. Potions is a dangerous subject, the students must be focused and not fooling about while in class, or else a tragedy may occur. And has in times past. Students have died before I came to teach from exploded cauldrons or misbrewed drafts that have turned toxic. I am their teacher, not their friend, and I have a responsibility to their safety before all else. Longbottom is a walking disaster, madam. I haven't had a more inept, clumsy, addlepated student since Marsha Hawkins, my second year of teaching. When Longbottom enters my classroom, I feel the need to issue protective masks and head gear to the rest of the students."

"Severus, perhaps that is because you are too impatient with him. He fears your displeasure and that in turn makes him so nervous he cannot think straight. I've seen this kind of anxiety before. Surely you can see that barking orders at the boy is only making him worse?"

"Miss Rosario," here Severus's tone became sharp as a dagger. "I have been teaching for over ten years, I think I know the signs of anxiety. However, I cannot afford to spend all my time watching Longbottom when I have a class of nineteen others to supervise. I am very aware that the boy has problems, he is forever exploding and melting cauldrons because of his lack of attention to the formulas. My 'barking' at him, Miss Rosario, is a direct attempt to make him pay more attention and avoid an accident which could prove fatal."

"I understand that, but perhaps what the boy needs is some individualized instruction. If you could tutor him alone, away from the others, he might be able to concentrate better, and you could afford to be more patient with him and try and overcome his anxiety gradually. He told me that your hovering over him makes him nervous."

Severus' scowl deepened. "Indeed? And how, pray tell, am I to inspect his potion if I do not 'hover' over him? If Longbottom is not kept a sharp eye on, you can be sure his potion will be ruined within half-an-hour. Furthermore, I have no leisure time in which to tutor the boy, as I am swamped with work from my seven other classes, plus my duties as Head of Slytherin, and attempting to spend an hour or two with my ward. In addition to that, I also monitor the halls every other night with Mr. Filch."

"It sounds like you need a teaching assistant."

"Perhaps, but they are hardly crawling out of the woodwork. Unless _you _are volunteering?"

The librarian stiffened at his scoffing tone and snapped, "Why? Do you think I can't do it? I'll have you know I was third in my year in Potions on my NEWTS. If you need help grading homework and such I am perfectly capable of doing so! You needn't act so superior . . . _Mr. Snape_!" Now she glared at him, in an indignant fury, her Italian temper sparking. "All I'm trying to do is to help a student. Don't you care if Longbottom fails your class?"

"Of course I do! But I hardly need you to interfere with my teaching methods, Miss Rosario!"

"Quit being so stubborn! You say you need an assistant, well, here I am. I have half of my days free now that the library is nearly fully restored, I can grade your homework, so then you have an hour or two free to work with Neville. I don't think he's hopeless, he just needs some encouragement. From _you_, Professor. You obviously care about your students, so why not show Neville that? The boy's heard all sorts of horror stories about you from older Housemates. Here's your chance to prove them all false. As well as help a student from failing and ruining your reputation as a decent Potions Master."

Severus bristled at her for several minutes, tempted to tell her off. Who did she think she was, coming here and trying to tell him how to teach? But he held his temper by a very slim margin. Because deep down, he knew her assessment was mostly correct. He was impatient with those who did not grasp his subject easily, it frustrated him because brewing was like second nature to him and always had been. It irritated him when students kept making the same errors over and over, because it seemed like they weren't applying themselves or paying attention. It also worried him when he had a student like Longbottom in class, because it was all too easy to cause a bad accident and he would be responsible for the injured children under his care. The worry expressed itself in sharpness and temper.

He met her eyes with a challenging gleam, and replied, "You have a great deal of nerve, Miss Rosario, to presume to tell me how to teach my subject and my students."

"So I've been told," she said dryly. "Will you accept my offer?"

"I need not prove myself to you," Severus said stiffly.

"True. But how about to yourself, Potions Master?"

"You are determined to drive me to drink, aren't you? Has anyone ever told you that you are an exasperating pain-in-arse?"

To his surprise, she chuckled. "My family does, all the time."

"Humph! Why am I not surprised?" he drawled irritably. "Very well. I shall speak to Minerva and arrange a tutoring schedule with her for Longbottom. I shall also tell her of our arrangement. But be warned, you must follow my grading rubric exactly, no deviations. And I have the final say on all the grades, no exceptions."

"Yes, sir, Master Snape," she saluted him. "What time do you wish me to start tomorrow?"

He smirked. "Six-thirty A.M."

She didn't bat an eye. "Shall I meet you in your office?"

"Yes. Be prepared to work."

"I always am, Professor. I'll see you at lunch." With that, she left, leaving an irritated Potions Master staring after her.

He was torn between a grudging respect for her audacity and a desire to shake her till her teeth rattled. But she had pricked his pride, and in truth he didn't want to have a student as terrified of him as Neville was. His reputation as the snarky dungeon bat served him well with recalcitrant and cheeky students, and those who were troublemakers and rule-breakers. Those he did not mind making weep with terror when they saw him coming. But Longbottom was not one of their ilk, and Severus did not enjoy seeing the boy look at him as though he were the Dark Lord come again.

Setting aside his batch of homework, he checked his watch and the schedule he had posted upon the wall of his colleagues' classes. He saw that Minerva was free at this time as well, and tossed down some Floo Powder. "McGonagall's office." Then he stepped through the glowing green flames.

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

That evening, as Harry was about to make his way down to Snape's quarters again for his study session, he noticed Neville standing in front of the fireplace in the common room, looking rather shellshocked. "Hey, Nev. Something wrong?"

"Huh?" Neville jumped about a foot. "Oh, it's you, Harry. You startled me."

"Sorry. You look sort of dazed."

"I . . well . . . you see . . . Professor McGonagall just told me that I need some remedial potions lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and . . . uh . . ."

"Oh. That's not a bad thing, right? I mean, you _could_ use the extra practice," Harry said honestly.

"I know, but . . . I have them with . . . _Professor Snape_." Neville whimpered, saying Snape's name the way another person might have said Voldemort.

"Well, sure you would, Nev. I mean, why wouldn't you? He is our Potions Master. He knows how to help you the best." Harry patted the other on the shoulder. "Quit worrying, Nev. He's not as bad as he makes himself out to be in class. Trust me on that. His bark's worse than his bite . . . most times."

"Maybe to you he's like that. But I'm not brave like you, Harry. I'm afraid of my own shadow. The Hat only put me in Gryffindor 'cause I asked it to, since my mum and dad were in this House."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What House did it originally want you in?"

"Hufflepuff."

"Well, you're a Gryffindor now. The Hat must have seen you have courage, or else it wouldn't have agreed."

"I guess so." Neville looked doubtful. "But I still don't think I have a lot of courage."

There came a sudden flutter of wings and both boys looked up to see Skullduggery perched upon the window of the Tower. The raven peered at the two Gryffindors and said in a quiet voice, "There are many kinds of courage, young wizard. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."

Neville smiled shyly at the raven. "Thanks, Skull."

The raven made a purring noise.

Harry grinned and stroked the black bird's feathers. "Where'd you hear that, Skull?"

"It is a quote from Mary Anne Radmacher, an inspirational writer. Severus has read some of her work aloud to me." He winked at the boy. Then his voice shifted, to sound like Snape's. "If you don't hurry, Potter, you shall be late for your study session."

"Right. On my way, Skull. See you later, Neville!" Harry waved and raced out the door.

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

_Tuesday night, the following week:_

Severus was waiting in his classroom at seven o'clock, next to his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. This was his first tutoring session with Longbottom, and the boy was late. He heaved a sigh. Students who were chronically late always annoyed him. Didn't Longbottom know how to tell time?

There came a timid knock on the door, and then Neville entered. The boy was rumpled, his tie askew, his moon face red from having run as quickly as he could across the grounds and down to the dungeons. "S-Sorry I'm late, sir . . . was helping Professor Sprout . . ." Neville gasped, struggling to catch his breath. He began to wheeze.

Suddenly Snape was beside him, taking his arm and leading him to a chair. "Sit. Put your head between your knees and take a deep breath. Slowly." The professor's voice was soft, lacking its usual scornful bite. Neville found himself obeying the tone immediately. He managed to take a deep breath.

"Good. Again."

Neville drew in another breath and then another, until he was breathing normally again. Some of the red hectic flush faded from his cheeks and he peered warily up at his tall professor. He expected some sarcastic comment and half-cringed.

But Snape merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Next time you are working with a professor and know you will be late, have them send a note to me or Floo me. That way you won't need to run yourself into the ground, Longbottom."

"Yes, sir." Neville squeaked. He gulped hard.

Then he blinked as Snape held out something to him. It was a cup of water. He took the cup and sipped it gratefully. Then he wondered why Snape wasn't sneering at him. Could Harry have been right after all? "Th-thank you, sir."

"No need to thank me, Longbottom. Dying will not save you from taking my exam."

Neville nodded quickly. He had no doubt that Snape would come and fetch him from beyond the Veil just so he could finish his potions final. "No, sir."

Severus bit back a sigh. He had intended that as a joke, but apparently the boy didn't share his dry wit. "All right, Longbottom." He waved his wand at the chalkboard and a Sleeping Draught wrote itself upon the board. "Look here. This is a standard Sleeping Draught, one that all first years should be able to brew by the end of the term. Professor Sprout tells me you are good in Herbology. Tell me what the properties of these herbs are and what they do."

Neville peered at the board and read slowly. The herbs in the Sleeping Draught were chamomile, lavender, valerian, and passion flower. He explained the properties of each in a soft voice, that started out uncertain and shaky but gained confidence by the end of the recitation.

"Correct. Knowing the properties of ingredients is the first step in becoming a decent potion maker," Snape instructed. "Once you know what the ingredients do, you can determine how they react. Go and fetch the ingredients from the back cabinet."

Neville rose hastily, tripped over his robe hem, and almost fell on top of the professor. Horrified, he trembled and waited for Snape to bellow at him and call him a dunderhead that couldn't even walk straight. But all Snape did was take him by the shoulders to steady him and point to the cabinet.

Flushing scarlet, Neville hurried to the cabinet. His stomach was still in knots, but so far the professor hadn't lashed him with his tongue.

Once the ingredients were gathered, Snape told Neville to begin preparing them, making sure he read the instructions carefully. The professor watched, standing a few feet away, trying not hover so much. "Take your time. There is no need to rush."

Neville began to cut up the valerian roots, wrinkling his nose at the disgusting smell.

"Usually it is best to chop or grind all your ingredients before you begin adding them to the cauldron. Also make sure you check the flame, you do not want your potion to scorch."

"Yes, sir."

Neville finished chopping and grinding, then began to add the ingredients.

"Stop!" Snape ordered.

Neville froze. The Potions Master was frowning. "S-sir?"

"What did you forget?"

Neville bit his lip. "I . . .I . . .oh! The fire! I forgot to check it! And the water too!"

He quickly checked the flame level and filled the cauldron with the required amount of water. Then he re-read the directions.

Snape watched as Longbottom added each ingredient. Occasionally, the boy would slide his gaze over to him, as if confirming that the professor was still there. Severus was silent, allowing the boy to proceed at his own pace.

Neville was still nervous, but he managed to finish brewing the potion, allowing it to simmer for ten minutes. He looked up at his teacher, wide-eyed.

"Not bad, Longbottom." Severus praised. "I believe this is the first time you have brewed a successful potion."

Neville looked at the cauldron in astonishment. "I did?"

"Yes."

"Merlin, I really did!" the boy said, his voice full of amazement. "I guess I'm not so hopeless."

"No. Now that you have seen you can brew one potion properly, let us see if you can do it again, without prompting." Snape waved his wand and bottled the fresh draft. "Begin."

Neville practically ran to the cabinet, a smile blossoming across his face. On his return trip back to his workstation, he saw his professor with a—dare he think it—_pleased_ expression upon his saturnine features. He paused and gaped up at the man.

"Longbottom, what are you staring at?" Severus demanded, waving a hand impatiently. "That potion won't brew itself."

"Nothing, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Quit apologizing and brew," the other ordered gruffly.

Neville hurried over to the workstation, and set to work, only this time his movements were a bit surer and more confident.

Perhaps he had been too hasty and misjudged the boy, the professor thought. Longbottom did work better alone and without the sharp edge of his tongue. Snape felt a warm glow of satisfaction stirring within him. If he could manage to bring Longbottom up to a competent standard, he would prove that he was capable of teaching even the most difficult student. To himself, of course. Severus almost smiled then.

So did someone else who was observing silently from the corner of the lab, hidden beneath a Shadowed Charm. Lena smiled, and thought that she had misjudged the professor, and was sorry she had quarreled with him. She had not thought he would succeed, based upon what she had observed of his teaching methods in class. She had been wrong. When he wished, Severus could be quite patient. It was too bad, though, that the man rarely showed this side to anyone, except perhaps his ward and his familiar.

The librarian-turned-potions-assistant slipped away while the professor's back was turned, demonstrating the proper way to stir a cauldron, smoothly and with a firm swirling motion. Once outside the classroom, she cancelled her charms. The professor was a man of his word. Hiding a grin, she hurried back to his office to pick up another batch of homework to grade. She was certain that if he caught her shirking, he would not spare her the razor edge of his tongue. And rightly so.

**PageBreak~*~*~*~*PageBreak**

Severus caught Lena mid-yawn over a student's parchment when he returned to his office after the tutoring session. "Working overtime, Miss Rosario? Or are you finding the students' essays as boring as Professor Binns' lectures?"

His new assistant looked up, blinking owlishly behind her spectacles. "Huh? Oh, no I wasn't really bored . . . some of the students have rather . . . err . . . shall we say . . . unconventional explanations for their potions reagents . . ." She stifled another yawn.

Severus snorted. "There is no need to be diplomatic. I know full well how bloody boring they are, which is why I tend to grade with a large cup of coffee at my elbow. Sometimes that's the only thing keeping my eyes from shutting, unless I take a Stimulant Draft."

Lena bit her lip, looking like a guilty schoolgirl. "Fine. I admit it. This is worse than memorizing Caesar's Commentary on Gaul. I don't know how you do it, Professor Snape. Every day, I mean. This requires immense dedication. I don't think I could make a good teacher." She lifted her eyes and met his. "I owe you an apology. I misjudged you."

"Oh? In what way?"

"I did not think you would be able to keep your temper while tutoring. I was wrong."

"You have been _spying_ upon me?" Severus scowled at her. The blasted witch did not trust him. Of all the nerve!

"Guilty as charged, sir," she admitted, flushing. "Curiosity had always been my bane. As has my temper. You are more than what you seem, Professor Snape."

"Aren't we all?" he drawled, with just the hint of a smile. "And it's Severus, Lena."

"Friends?" she held out a hand.

"Friends," he clasped hers in his own. "Now finish those essays."

She scowled. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a bloody slavedriver?"

"Quit complaining, Rosario. You agreed to this." He turned to leave, flicking his wand as he did so.

An extra-large mug of steaming coffee with milk and two sugars appeared on the desk at her elbow. Before she could say anything, he was gone, black robes billowing.

**A/N: I know this chapter didn't have a lot of Harry and Sev and Skull, but the next one will. I needed to introduce Neville in here, however, and this seemed a proper place for it.**


	16. Harry's First Real Christmas

**Chapter 16**

**Harry's First Real Christmas**

**A/N: Lots of Skullduggery in here, as well as much bonding between Harry and Severus. Hope you enjoy the long chapter!**

Neville continued to have Remedial Potions lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays up until the week of finals. At night, he joined the study group in Snape's quarters, helping the others with Herbology, which he had an instinctive understanding of. Draco had sneered at the shy boy at first, until a swift reprimand from his Head stilled his tongue. Under the dire threat of being pitched out of Snape's quarters by the seat of his trousers, Malfoy remembered the manners Narcissa had taught him and was icily polite to Neville. Once he realized, however, that the other boy had valuable knowledge to impart, and that it would benefit him to learn it, he began to be more welcoming to Augusta's grandson.

Even Hermione was impressed with Neville's expertise. "Wow! You're as brilliant in Herbology as Professor Snape is in potions, Neville," she exclaimed after Neville had recited all the parts of a moonshower plant and their properties without hesitation.

Neville blushed. "I've always liked plants," was all he said.

Severus was relaxing in his recliner, reading a book, thanks to Lena he was not stuck grading papers all evening. The library witch had kept her side of the bargain, and faithfully graded his homework on those nights he tutored Neville. Not only that, but she had taken it a step further and graded the small quizzes he had given his classes in preparation for the big day. When he had told her it was not necessary, she had shrugged and said what was a quiz between friends?

"Besides, it's giving me a refresher course in potions, which I haven't studied since I left school. I'm a bit rusty." Lena admitted. "No knowledge is ever wasted."

Severus couldn't refute that fact, and so allowed the witch to continue grading the quizzes, but he would be taking her out to lunch during the holidays as a reward. He never wanted it said that Severus Snape did not pay his debts. He glanced over at the little study group from time to time, and finding them all working and not trying to hex each other, made a smile flitter across his face for an instant.

Skullduggery woke from his nap upon his wizard's shoulder and peered about. Almost immediately he spotted the children and hissed in Snape's ear. "Isn't that sweet, Sev? Your son and his friends, studying their little brains out. Looks like your perfectionist influence has paid off, eh? "Twould make a nice Christmas card. Too bad you don't have a camera."

Severus eyed the black bird. "Who says I don't have a camera?"

"If you do, where is it? Do you remember?"

"Of course! It's . . ." here he paused, thinking rapidly. " . . . in my closet, in the box where I used to keep Lily's album. I haven't used it since . . . she died."

"Perhaps you might consider taking it out again?" suggested the raven softly. "So you can capture some new memories to replace the sad ones."

Severus was silent for several minutes. Sometimes Skull could be eerily perceptive, but then, he was a greater Tower raven, and all of that breed were uncannily intuitive. He brought up a hand to stroke the glossy midnight feathers and murmured, "Perhaps, old friend."

The raven crooned wordlessly in his ear, then abruptly left his perch and flew into the half-open door of Snape's bedroom.

Severus thought nothing of it, as Skull's perch was in there. He figured the raven had gone to get a drink or nibble upon the dried fruit in his food bowl. He turned back to his book. The clock upon his mantle chimed eight-thirty. Severus went to turn a page when Skullduggery returned and dropped the InstaMagic camera into Snape's lap.

"There!" the raven croaked, pleased. "Now start making some new memories."

Snape stared at the bird in astonishment. "Skullduggery, how on earth did you find this?"

"I looked where you said."

"In the dark?"

"I can see in the dark when I wish," the raven replied, in a mysterious tone. He flew over to where Harry was sitting and perched upon the back of his chair. Skull waited until he saw Snape pick up the camera and fiddle with it for a few moments. Then he cawed loudly, sounding like a movie director, "Lights! Camera! Action!"

All of the students jerked to attention and looked over at the professor, startled.

Severus clicked the camera.

"Huh? Why'd you take our picture, Professor?" asked Ron.

"For posterity. And to prove that I wasn't dreaming when I tell the rest of the staff over dinner tomorrow that I had Gryffindors and a Slytherin studying together without bloodshed," Severus answered slyly. Then he tucked the camera in his pocket.

"Now you're famous," Skullduggery crowed. "You've joined the ranks of those whom Sev considers worthy of photographing. It's a great honor." The raven bowed, spreading his wings. "I take full credit for it."

"You would," Snape snorted. He eyed his students and ward. "You need to finish up, you have half-an-hour until nine o'clock."

There was a mad round of shuffling of books and parchment.

"Hermione, can you show me that wand movement again?" queried Draco.

"Harry, do you add the flobberworms before or after the beetle carapaces?" Neville asked.

"After. And remember to stir four times clockwise," Harry replied. Then he turned to Ron. "Ron, can you show me how to cast that turtle into a teacup again? I think I keep missing a syllable."

Ron demonstrated the spell once more.

When the clock struck nine, they gathered up all their paraphernalia, thanked Snape for the use of his quarters, then they departed. "Good night, sir! Good night, Skull!"

"Good night, children! Sleep tight, don't let the nargles bite! They like to eat your socks. And maybe a bit of your toes." Skull cackled wickedly. "Get a good night's sleep, you want to be nice and rested for your exams."

Ron, Neville, and Draco were nearly doubled over with laughter.

Hermione frowned. "What's a nargle?"

Harry shrugged. "Must be some magical animal. Never heard of them." He waved at Skull. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need luck, Mr. Potter. Not when you have a perfectly good head on your shoulders," the professor told him.

"Don't worry, Harry. Sev won't beat you too hard if you fail an exam." Skullduggery teased.

Harry's eyes widened.

"Ignore the senile ramblings of the raven behind the curtain," Severus drawled. "I have never beaten a student over bad marks, nor will I ever."

"Spoilsport!" Skull grumbled and stuck out his tongue at his wizard. "Quoth the raven—Nevermore!"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Quoth the professor—Shut thy mouth. _Now_."

"Really!" the bird huffed, sounding like someone's insulted old auntie. "There's no need to be so nasty! I was only having a bit of fun, I was. Harry knows that, right, Harry?" Skull glared disapprovingly at Severus. "Humph! We'll see if Father Christmas brings _you_ anything Christmas morning!"

Harry was stricken by a sudden fit of giggles. Only Skullduggery could get away with saying such insolent things to Snape's face. "Good night, sir!" he called, then bolted down the corridor. When he reached the stairs he collapsed, his shoulders shaking with smothered laughter.

"Harry? Is something the matter?" asked Neville, coming up to him.

Harry shook his head. "No. Just Skull. He just told Professor Snape—" he burst out in giggles again.

"Told him what?" Ron asked.

"Tell you later," Harry said, still gasping and snorting with laughter.

"Come on, you three! Before we're late and Percy makes us write lines," Hermione called from the top of the stairs.

The boys hustled then, running up the stairs as quickly as they could.

Severus shut the door to his quarters with a snap, muttering out of the corner of his mouth, "Someday, Skullduggery . . ."

"To the moon, Alice! To the moon!"

"Don't push me, bird."

"What? You don't like Jackie Gleason?"

"Who in hell is that?"

"Muggle actor. Played in a show called _The Honeymooners_. See, Sev, this is why we need a TV . . ."

"A TV will not work at Hogwarts, how many times must I tell you this?" sighed the exasperated Potions Master.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

It was exam week, and when Harry wasn't studying for his next exam, he was in the library, reading some of the books Lena had placed upon the shelf with the raven symbol—the legends and myths studied by the Society of Ravens. It was Wednesday afternoon, and Harry had selected a book about Irish folklore to read before bed that night. He had just started to read about Finn MacCool, when two Hufflepuff girls came into the library, giggling and laughing.

"Miss Rosario, do you have any catalogs where we can mail order Christmas presents?" one asked Lena, who was sitting at the circulation desk.

"Yes. Look to the left of the Charms section, they're on the rack on the wall," the librarian said, then sent a small ball of light—a wispy—to guide the girls to the right rack.

"Thanks! Ooo, I can't wait to see what they have for my Frankie!" one squealed and hurried after the bobbing ball of light.

"I have to get my sister a present, d'you think she'd like some perfume?" her friend asked.

Only then did Harry recall that he had not had time to go Christmas shopping at all, what with class and exams and all. And it was barely five days till Christmas. He groaned. He knew what he wanted to get Ron and Hermione and Neville. Hell, he'd even get a gift for Malfoy because the other boy had helped him so much with Defense. But he had no clue what to get Severus. He groaned loudly.

Lena looked over at him, he was sprawled in one of the comfy chairs in the reading nook, just off to the right of the circulation desk. "Why such a big sigh, Harry?" She peered over at him over the top of her glasses. "Are you stressing over your exams again?" She had already sent several students over to the infirmary for Calming Draughts because of test anxiety.

"No. It's just . . . I have to buy Christmas presents and I . . . have no idea what to get Professor Snape." Harry told her.

The librarian tilted her head, today she was wearing kitten earrings. She usually wore a different pair of earrings for every day of the week. "Ah. I can see why you're worried. He's not the easiest person to shop for, is he?"

"No. I mean, I already thought of all the usual stuff, like potions ingredients, and a new cauldron, but he had everything he needs already. He doesn't really like many sweets, and I can't buy clothes, I don't know his size or what he likes to wear except his teaching robes. He doesn't really care for Quidditch and he has a library almost as big as this one. It's hopeless! I have less than a week to get him a gift."

"Hmm . . ." Lena tapped her chin thoughtfully. Since she had begun helping the professor grade his homework over a week ago, she had come to see just how much work the man had to do, both in and out of the classroom. Snape was Head of Slytherin, which meant he had a whole House of students to look after and help with their problems, plus his classes to teach, and his ward to spend time with. And he was also a hall monitor every three days. The professor was overworked to ninth degree. She wondered when he slept, or if he did. Lately, she had noticed he seemed even more short tempered than normal and it was probably due to lack of sleep. Heaven only knew, she was a crab when she was running on three hours of sleep for three days straight.

"You know, Harry, Professor Snape is a workaholic. I'll bet he rarely takes time out of his schedule to just relax."

"He hardly ever does. Once in awhile he'll read or play chess with me, but lately all he's been doing is grading. And snapping at me if I breathe too loud." Harry frowned.

"Sounds to me like he needs a holiday. Good thing Christmas break is coming up. I've been thinking myself about a present for him. He mentioned to me once that he likes coffee. How does a large tin of Blue Diamond Coffee sound, along with a mug that keeps it hot and some shortbread?"

"That sounds good. He does like shortbread. And strong coffee." Harry made a face. "I tasted some once. Tasted awful, like something you'd use to strip paint."

Lena snickered. "Let me guess. He likes it with milk and almost no sugar? Or black?"

"Sometimes."

"Harry, not everyone enjoys coffee that strong. They do make other kinds, which are milder tasting, not 100% Arabica beans, and you can put lots of sugar and cream in it to make it taste sweeter. That's how I like mine."

"You do?"

"Yes. One day over break—you're spending it here, correct?—I shall have you over for breakfast and make you a proper cappuccino. You'll like that a lot, I think."

"What's that?"

"It's Italian coffee with steamed milk," Lena answered. "You'll see. Now, I've noticed that Severus has been under a lot of stress this term. I think what he needs is a Relaxation package."

Harry frowned. "What's that? Like a trip to a deserted island?"

"I don't think you could afford that," she laughed. "No, what I'm talking about is a package made up of things he enjoys doing that make him calm and relaxed. I'm making one for Aunt Irma, with some of her favorite teas and lemon curd and cinnamon biscuits. I'm also giving her some magical bath salts and a new bedrobe. And some of her favorite books."

"Oh. That's really nice." Harry said. But he doubted if Severus wanted a new bedrobe.

"What sorts of things does Severus like to do after he's done with class? Does he like a particular kind of magazine? Or chocolate?"

"Uh . . . he's got a bunch of potions magazines he reads. _The Advanced Potioneer's Journal, Potions Weekly, The Apothecary's Almanac . . ._" Harry ticked them off on his fingers. "And he likes dark chocolate, the darker the better."

"That's good. Maybe you can get him a magazine subscription and some chocolate?" Lena suggested. "And . . . hmm . . .I used to get my dad slippers for his birthday. Nice leather ones. Does he wear slippers?"

Harry's brow puckered. "Uh . . . yeah, he does." He tried to remember if Severus' slippers were old or not. He recalled they were green, not black, and they had looked sort of worn. "Do you think slippers would go all right?"

"I think that's a capital idea! And maybe a small plant as well, like a Christmas cactus. You can order them from a plant catalogue, they come originally from America, but are very good for people who have limited time to care for a plant. They require a cool temperature, infrequent watering, and total darkness at night. And some indirect light during the day. They're perfect for dwelling in a dungeon, don't you think?"

"It sounds good. Why are they called that?"

"Because the cactus blooms around Christmas, with red or pink or white blossoms. And people enjoy giving them as gifts for the season."

"Will it arrive in time?"

"If you rush order it, it will."

Harry looked slightly overwhelmed. He didn't know how to do any of that.

"I can help you with the ordering." She Summoned the plant catalogue to her and together they picked out a smallish cactus with red and white flowers, sort of like a peppermint. Then Lena Summoned several more catalogues, and helped Harry pick out some slippers and a magazine subscription to _Potions and Notions_—which also sold ingredients and potions apparatus as well as articles about new potions and tips on making more effective drafts. It was one magazine Harry hadn't seen on Snape's table.

He also placed orders at Honeydukes for their finest dark chocolate and some chocolate frogs for Ron and Sugar Quills for Hermione. He ordered _Flying with the Cannons_, a Quidditch book, for Ron and one called _The Wonders of Arithmancy_ for Hermione. He also got Neville some sweets and another book called _Amazing Magical Plants of the Mediterranean. _For the twins he bought joke products. He even bought Draco a small present, a sweet called Serpent Twist, which was gummy candy shaped like a snake that hissed and slithered when you first opened it but afterwards tasted like sour-sweet fruit flavors. The sweet also came with a model of a magical snake—Harry picked a runespoor for the Slytherin.

He then sent all the envelopes off with Hedwig, except the plant one, Lena said she would mail it at the nearest Muggle post office.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that his shopping was now complete and he could relax . . . sort of . . . until the break. He picked up his book and thanked the librarian, returning to his chair to read until dinner.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

_Three days later_

_Snape's quarters:_

"Only one more exam left and we're finished!" Ron announced as their study group met for the last time that night.

"Thank Merlin!" Neville sighed in relief. "I'm just happy I have my potions final out of the way."

"How do you think you did, Nev?" asked Hermione curiously.

"All right. With all the extra lessons I've had, I wasn't even nervous. And I didn't blow up anything either," Neville said proudly.

"It's like a miracle, Longbottom," drawled Draco.

"Good for you, Nev!" said Harry. "Now all we have to worry about is Transfiguration."

They all pulled out their copies of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ and began to practice. As Harry tried to turn his matchbox into a mouse for the second time, he heard a familiar voice say, "Remember, Potter, to focus your will on what you want to occur and then visualize, visualize, visualize!"

Harry nearly fell off his chair. "Professor McGonagall?"

He whirled around, only to find a certain black bird hovering in the air behind him.

"Gotcha, Harry!"

The rest of the study group giggled hysterically.

"Skull, how do you _do_ that?" Harry groaned.

The raven studied the boy with beady eyes. "Do what, _bran boy_?"

"Sneak up on me like that?"

"I am raven, and we are night's shadow, Harry." Skullduggery replied in a shivery voice. "When I wish to I can fly unseen."

Neville's jaw dropped. "You mean you can turn invisible?"

"In a manner of speaking."

A loud snort came from Snape, who was doing the Prophet crossword in his recliner in front of the fire, his feet propped up on a footstool. "If you believe that, Longbottom, I have some real estate in Loch Ness I can sell you. Don't believe everything he tells you, he exaggerates greatly."

"All right, so it's not a true invisibility. But I _am_ nearly impossible to spot at night unless you have superior night vision." Skullduggery sniped. "Part of a raven's magic is concealment."

"Is it true that ravens escort souls to the Land of the Dead?" Draco inquired.

"Yes. A raven exists in both the material and spiritual realm, and as such can make the crossing between the two easily."

"Have you ever done it?" Hermione wanted to know.

"No. That task is for the Elders of my kind. I am a familiar, and will not be required to travel the Road of Mist until I am quite old and my wizard is no more."

"How long can you live?" was her next question.

"Quite long, my dear. I am a magical raven, and I can live to well over one hundred."

Ron whistled. "Blimey!"

Snape cleared his throat. "Might I suggest, Weasley, more studying and less socializing?"

"Oh. Err . . . right." Ron flushed and then went back to practicing the spells.

As they were all filing out of the door, Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "A moment, Harry."

Harry looked up at his guardian. "Uncle Sev?"

"I was wondering if you had decided where you were spending Christmas morning?" the professor began. "I know that some of the Weasleys will be here over the break. If you would rather spend it with them . . ."

"But what about you? Then you'd be alone," Harry said. He shook his head. "Ron has his brothers to celebrate with Christmas morning. You're my family now, sir. I belong here. Unless . . . you don't want me down here?"

The uncertainty in the boy's voice tugged at Severus' heartstrings. "Why would you think that? You are always welcome here." The Potions Master said gruffly. "I simply thought you'd prefer waking up to your friends Christmas morning instead of the dungeon bat."

"No, sir. Christmas is for family. Even though I never really had a proper one, even I know that much." Harry said firmly.

Severus frowned. "Harry, what do you mean, you never really had one?"

Harry bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Uh . . . the Dursleys, well . . . they never really . . . let me be a part of Christmas . . . it was all about Aunt Petunia's friends and Uncle Vernon's friends from the office and Dudley, of course . . .I was just in the way."

Severus' mouth tightened into a grim line. He could only imagine what the boy's holidays had been like, shoved into a corner, forgotten and unwanted. It made him long to go and hex Lily's sister and her fat slob of a husband until they bled. "That is not the case here, Harry. I shall do my best to make sure you have a good Christmas."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Severus." He reached out and hugged the Potions Master.

Severus returned the hug, he was not as awkward now, and murmured, "You are most welcome, child. Now, off to bed with you. You need a proper night's sleep. And make sure you eat a decent breakfast tomorrow, no sugared donuts."

"Yes, sir." Then he added, half beneath his breath. "When my exam's over I'm going to eat a dozen donuts for lunch."

"You do and you had better not come whining to me that you have a stomach-ache, because you'll get no sympathy from me."

"You'd let me suffer?" his ward objected.

"If suffering a bout of indigestion teaches you not to stuff yourself like a pig, then it's worth it. Sometimes learning the hard way is the best teacher."

"You're mean. I'll bet Ron's mum never did that."

"Then you'd be wrong. She was the one who told me that sometimes a child needs to suffer for their folly before they learn that fire is hot and one should listen to one's elders."

"Oh." Harry said. He quickly decided he would only eat six donuts.

"Good night, Harry." Snape said, turning his ward about and sending him off with a quick pat on the behind. "A dozen donuts! The boy would be lucky if he didn't vomit all over after eating that many at once," Severus muttered.

He returned to his recliner, drinking a cup of tea before he went to sleep. He stared at the fire and mused on what to do to make Harry's first real Christmas special. "Well, Skullduggery, I suppose we'll need to decorate a bit in here."

"Right. If Harry's to spend Christmas, we need a tree."

"A tree? But there's fifteen of them in the Great Hall." Snape objected.

"But none here for you to put the presents under," the raven reminded him.

"I hate fir trees. They shed all over and the smell makes me sneeze," Snape grumbled.

"Buy nose plugs. Think of how disappointed Harry will be with no tree to crawl under Christmas morning," Skull said slyly.

"I don't know where to find one."

"Ask Hagrid."

Severus scowled. "Isn't it enough that I'm going to have red bows and bells and all that other bloody nonsense down here?"

The raven began to sing, "O _Christmas tree! O Christmas tree! How lovely are thy branches_!" He began circling Snape's head, singing lustily the old German carol.

"Fine. I'll tell Hagrid to pick out a small one. Anything to get you to quit singing! Bloody nuisance."

"Then you and Harry can have fun decorating it." Skull warbled happily.

"Oh, joy."

"Don't be such a grouch. You told me yourself you used to help Lily decorate her tree when you were small. "

"That's precisely why I don't—" the professor began.

Skull fluttered down and landed on his shoulder. "Now you can continue the tradition with her son, and create new memories. He deserves to be happy on Christmas. And so do you."

Severus said nothing, for once allowing the raven to have the last word. Because, though he hated to admit it, the familiar was right.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

_The next night:_

With the cessation of exams and the term ending, several of the more boisterous and mischievous students, such as the Weasley twins, celebrated the holiday by playing harmless practical jokes on their Housemates. They turned Hermione and Alicia's hair into candy cane stripes, and Neville tried a canary cream and molted into a canary for thirty seconds. Ron suddenly sported the head of a bullfrog, and Harry howled like a wolf and scared Mrs. Norris out of her fur.

At least some of the pranks were harmless. There seemed to be a practical joker in every House, but while most of the students had lines they wouldn't cross, there were some who took their jokes too far.

Harry was down in Snape's rooms, helping the professor decorate the medium-sized spruce that Hagrid had delivered that afternoon. There were two cardboard boxes with various ribbons, beads, and ornaments, their contents littering the floor and sofa of the sitting room. Severus had called Harry down a mere twenty minutes before, and had hot chocolate set out as well as gingerbread on a tray. They had strung popcorn and cranberries and draped them over the tree, with Skull assisting. Or at least he was until Severus yelled at him for eating the popcorn and banished him from the room for ten minutes. Harry had just chosen a globe with Lily's picture in it and stood on tiptoe to hang it close to the top, near the star, when a piercing scream interrupted their decorating.

Harry jumped about a foot and stepped on the hem of his robe, landing hard on the floor. "Ow!"

Severus turned and helped him up. "Are you hurt?"

"My bum's sore, but it's not bad."

Severus drew his wand. But before he could heal Harry, the scream came again. "Stay here. I'll fix your backside when I return." The Potions Master strode towards the door, looking like the Spirit of Christmas Future ready to wreak havoc on some unsuspecting soul. He jerked open the door.

Skull was on the other side. "Hurry, Sev! Bates scared poor Maura MacTeague so bad she's turned blue!"

Severus swore. "Where?"

"The common room!"

The Potions Master sprinted down the hall. Maura MacTeague was a fragile second year with asthma, she carried a Calming Draught and a Breathe Ease potions with her wherever she went. Normally the attacks were triggered by overexerting herself . . . or being scared half to death.

When Snape arrived in the common room, he found several students crouched about the gasping form of red-haired Maura, whose face was blue as she struggled for air. Above her hovered what looked like a sheet, though when Snape squinted, he saw the hazy outline of an Illusion Charm. He pointed his wand and snapped, "Finite!"

The sheet crumpled to the ground.

Severus' glare caused the other Slytherins to shrink back as he knelt next to the girl.

"Maura, it's Professor Snape." He spoke softly but firmly. "I need you to look at me. Good. Right at me. It wasn't real. Just an illusion." He pulled the girl across his lap, and quickly uncapped the vial of Breathe Ease. He stuck the potion vial under her nose, it had begun smoking. "Maura, breathe. That's it. Breathe." He urged, wafting the smoke into her nostrils.

She began coughing, sucking more of the elixir into her lungs. The potion worked fast, opening the airway and allowing the girl to breathe. Severus urged her to take one deep breath and then another, until she was breathing normally. The blue tinge faded and Severus helped her drink sips of the Calming Draft. The girl's eyes were wide with fear, though gradually it faded.

"Maura, can you tell me what happened?"

"There . . . was . . . a big . . . bat! Right over there!" she pointed to where the sheet had been. Sudden tears trickled out of her eyes. "I w-was so scared . . .!" All at once she began to cry, and Snape held her. "All right, child. Relax. The bat wasn't real," he soothed. He looked up then at the rest of his snakes. "Who did this? I want the truth—immediately!" he snapped, his voice crackling with icy fury.

There was a scuffling sound towards the back of the room, and then Flint emerged dragging a fourth-year with blond hair by his collar. "Bates, sir. Here he is, the bloody idiot!"

"It was only a joke, sir!" the other babbled, his eyes bright with fear.

"That joke, Mr. Bates, nearly killed your Housemate!" spat the irate professor. "Flint, bring him to my office and watch him. I'm going to bring Miss MacTeague to the Hospital Wing, then I'll be back to deal with him." He stood up, Maura cradled close. "The rest of you, go back to packing or whatever you were doing."

They scattered before his wrath, and he stalked out of the portrait hole, Skullduggery flying overhead.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

Severus returned to his quarters ten minutes later, still fuming. He found Harry still hanging ornaments on the tree. The boy looked up when he entered, and asked, "Is everything all right? What happened?"

"One of my fourth-years decided to play an asinine prank upon another of his Housemates, a second year named Maura MacTeague. He scared her so badly by presenting an illusion of a bat in front of her face and chasing her about with it that she had a very bad asthma attack. She was turning blue by the time I arrived. Luckily, she carries emergency potions on her person at all times, I was able to arrest the attack and bring her to the Hospital Wing."

"That's terrible! Did you catch who did it?"

"I did." Severus said, his voice tinged with satisfaction. He reached out and tapped Harry's backside with his wand and muttered a bruise-healing charm.

"He kicked the kid's arse!" Skull remarked. "Scared the little bugger straight."

"I gave him detention tonight and tomorrow night, pickling fifty rat spleens and scrubbing out bedpans without magic, and made him apologize to Miss MacTeague. I also tore strips off him for not stopping his stupid joke when he saw the girl was getting hysterical. Idiot!"

"You should have spanked him too," the raven hissed. "Given him three with the paddle."

Severus shook his head. "He is too old for that to have much effect, Skull. I would have to truly beat him to make an impression and that is not going to help anything. Furthermore, he seems to be truly remorseful, he was not gloating over his little joke as many other pranksters I know would have done."

"What paddle?" Harry asked.

"The one he keeps in his desk drawer," answered Skull.

"There really is one? I thought . . . I thought Malfoy was joking."

"No. I have, on very rare occasions, been given permission by some of my Slytherins' parents, to use it if necessary. Many of them come from pureblood families, who believe firmly in the old adage, "Spare the rod and spoil the child". They are quite convinced that a thrashing shall cure almost any misbehavior." Severus grimaced. "The Headmaster frowns upon it, though he was raised with that doctrine as well. However, I agreed to it, because I know that some parents would not hesitate to come and mete out a beating for an infraction if they thought I was not strict enough with their child."

"Did you ever have to . . . spank anyone?"

"Once or twice, I have administered a mild swat or three, never more than that, over clothes, to a first year that seems incapable of learning to behave with other means of correction. I have never used it on a child without parental permission. I have not punished a child that way in several years. It is not my preferred method of discipline, in case you are wondering. I generally prefer to leave that type of punishment to a child's parents."

"What about me? Would you ever . . .?"

"Harry, there is only one thing that would cause me to spank you, and that is if you deliberately place yourself in harm's way. If you recklessly risk your own life, then I would feel it necessary to give you three swats with my hand as a reminder to never do that again. That would also be in addition to restrictions to your room or loss of other privileges."

"Only three swats?" Harry blurted out.

"Would you like more?" Severus arched an eyebrow.

"No. Three's fine!" Harry hastily assured his guardian. "It's a fairer punishment than any the Dursleys ever gave me."

Severus nodded, then asked softly, "Did your relatives ever hit you?"

"Not really. I mean, sometimes Uncle Vernon would clip me about the ear, but he never spanked me. And once Aunt Petunia nearly hit me with a frying pan for burning the bacon, but they mostly liked to pretend I didn't exist. Dudley was the one who liked to knock me down and punch me." Harry scowled. "He could have used three with your paddle, sir."

"No doubt," Severus agreed. "He sounds a worse spoiled brat than Malfoy."

"He is. I'm glad I won't have to go back there again." Harry said, sounding relieved. He picked up a swirling blown glass twist. "Let's finish decorating the tree."

And that was what they did. When they had finished, Severus stepped back to inspect it. "Not half-bad, if I do say so myself."

"I think it looks great! Better than any tree Aunt Petunia ever decorated," Harry said, smiling.

"That's because it was decorated with love," Skullduggery said, then he flew up and perched on top of the star.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

_Hogwarts Staff Room_

_6AM:_

"Good morning, all of you," Dumbledore greeted. He looked downright disgustingly alert for so early in the morning.

The same could not be said for the rest of the staff. Severus was scowling into his coffee, Minerva was yawning, Professor Sprout was leaning her head on her hand, Flitwick was snoring softly, Sinistra looked as if she were in outer space, and Professor Vector as if she were beginning to count sheep. Lena was cross-eyed trying to stay awake and Irma was blinking owlishly while she sipped her tea. Quirrell was twitching annoyingly, and staring at his hands.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "Since this is the last meeting before the holidays, I want to remind you all to have your final grades turned in before the children go home tomorrow, so we can send out their marks in a timely fashion. Any detentions you have issued should be logged and points taken will be deducted. Severus, I believe you had a detention issued to one of your Slytherins last night, did you not?"

"Indeed, Headmaster. I caught the boy playing a practical joke upon one of his Housemates," Severus began.

"Gracious, Severus! You gave the boy detention over a joke?" exclaimed Professor Sprout.

"You gave detention to your own House?" Sinistra looked shocked.

"Why so surprised, Aurora?" asked the Potions Master. "When necessary, I hand out detention to my snakes, should the situation warrant it." He then turned to Pomona. "This was not your average practical joke, Pomona." He then went on to explain what had happened.

Several of the staff looked shocked. "The poor dear! I hope she is all right." Minerva said. "He certainly deserved it then. I would have taken points as well as given him a session with my Dunce Cap."

"A Dunce Cap?" queried Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher. "Like what Muggles used to use in the seventeen hundreds?"

"Yes, only mine is magical in nature," Minerva explained.

"Meaning it scolds the child in her voice for fifteen minutes," Severus added.

"He's lucky he wasn't in my House," Pomona said. "I would have had him weeding and scrubbing the greenhouse till it shone without magic, as well as giving him a good rap across the knuckles."

Filius snored loudly. Severus poked him. "Huh? What did I miss?"

"A discussion over my detention of a student," answered the Potions Master.

"Oh? Who was it and what did he do?" Flitwick asked. He enjoyed debating methods of detention with his colleagues, Filius tended to favor more cerebral forms of punishment, rather than physical ones, such as lectures, writing lines, and essays to try and make the student realize the error of their ways. He had raised ten children and took great pride in telling his fellow professors he had never spanked any of them. "Hmm . . . that's a bit harsh, Severus, I am sure the boy wasn't intending for that to happen."

"Regardless of intent, the fact is that he nearly caused the girl to stop breathing, Filius. Those tasks, while disagreeable, will give him a good long time to think about what he did." Severus returned.

"How do you determine what sort of detention is appropriate?" Lena asked.

"That varies, my dear, upon the professor," Dumbledore answered.

"And also the student," Severus interjected. "I tend to tailor mine to the individual student, with a repeat offender getting progressively worse detentions. Sometimes it depends upon the House as well. I have found Hufflepuffs respond well to being put in a corner and then writing an essay about what they did wrong and why they shouldn't repeat it. For a Ravenclaw, giving them a boring task that doesn't require them to think is sufficient to correct them. Gryffindors, more often than not, require a supervised task that is done without magic, such as preparing ingredients or scrubbing cauldrons. My Slytherins tend to hate my lectures, or loss of points, some of them detest cleaning things, as they regard it as demeaning and beneath them. Very rarely, I have spanked a first year in my House. In this case, Lena, I made Bates scrub bedpans without magic and cut up rat spleens as well as apologize to Miss MacTeague, plus I lectured him quite severely. I would hope he has learned his lesson."

"If not, maybe you should send him to Filch next time," suggested Professor Vector.

"No." Severus shook his head. "Filch has no notion of what is appropriate when punishing a child. I once came upon a student crying in the hallway after serving a detention with Filch, and she was so distraught that Peeves was trying to comfort her."

"Peeves? The poltergeist?" Vector gasped.

"Yes. Which should tell you something, madam."

"I see. That seems fair. But what happens if a Gryffindor student complains to you, Minerva, about one of Severus' detentions, and vice versa?"

"Oh, that's happened quite a lot," Minerva said. "They try and play up to us, but we've all learned to back each other up, whatever the detention given. No teacher is ever allowed to use magic as a form of punishment, nor truly harm a student. We're all required to hand in a report of each detention we give, why and how it was administered and the student's name. If a teacher is too harsh, he or she may be fined by the Board of Governors and reprimanded. Why? Were you thinking on handing out some?"

"Well . . . there are a few students that I've had to speak to more than once about behaving respectfully towards others who are studying, and I caught one boy sticking gum underneath his chair . . ."

"Gum? On my new chairs?" Irma looked about ready to breathe fire. "Give me five minutes with that one and I'll straighten him out all right!"

"If there is any more trouble, Lena, you have my permission to dock points and give them tasks to do just as a professor would," Dumbledore said then. "With all of the hard work you have done in the library, it would be a shame to see it ruined by a few unruly children."

All the staff murmured agreement on that score.

"Thank you, Headmaster. Hopefully there will be mo more incidents."

"I sincerely hope not," said Dumbledore. "The library is the heart of the school. Perhaps I shall make an announcement to that effect during the feast next term." He shuffled some papers in front of him. "Now, on to the next piece of business. The Board of Governors has finally agreed to my request and you will all be getting a two Galleon raise beginning next term. How is that for an early Christmas present?"

Everyone applauded and Filius said, "Finally!"

None of the teachers had gotten a raise in eight years.

"That woke you all up, now didn't it?" Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling like mad. "Heads, don't forget to do a spot-check of your dormitories before the students get on the train, and make sure your classrooms are tidy. And make sure that all the students staying over break are accounted for. Christmas dinner shall be in the Great Hall at six o'clock. That's all, ladies and gentlemen. Have a wonderful Christmas!"

He waved his wand and Sugar Quills and Honeyduke's chocolate popped up next to their places. Severus was relieved to note that Dumbledore had remembered he preferred dark chocolate and green apple Sugar Quills. He thanked the Headmaster and tucked the candy in a pocket. It was now seven thirty and most of the shops in Hogsmeade should be open by now, in keeping with their holiday hours. He had time to do some last minute shopping before returning to supervise Bates' detention.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

_Christmas morning_

_Snape's quarters:_

Harry woke feeling deliciously warm and cozy. He yawned and stretched, then groped for his glasses. He had fallen asleep on Snape's sofa, after drinking some warm eggnog, which he was almost positive Severus had laced with a Sleeping Draught, for he'd been dead to the world soon after drinking it. But now he was wide awake, though reluctant to move from his cozy nest of blankets.

Until Skull flew into the room and crowed, "Wake up, Harry! It's Christmas!"

Then Harry crawled out from his blankets and set a foot cautiously on the floor. "Yikes! It's freezing!"

"Don't be a baby!" the raven trilled. "Look at all the presents under the tree!"

Harry did look and his eyes widened at seeing so many wrapped boxes and bags. "For me? All _that_?"

"Well, some are for Sev. But most of those have your name on it, I'd wager my tail feathers." The raven cawed, waggling said tail insolently. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go open them."

"What about Uncle Severus? Shouldn't I wait for him?"

"Do you want me to wake him up?"

Harry considered. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"Not at all, _bran-boy_."

The raven glided off the couch and into Severus' room.

The next thing that was heard in Snape's quarters was a panicked screeching. "Severus—WAKE UP! THERE'S A FIRE!"

Harry laughed so hard after hearing that he nearly peed his pants.

That in turn was followed by Severus bellowing, "Skullduggery, bloody hell! What do you man, screaming there's a fire in my ear?"

"It was the fastest way to wake you up," came the raven's reply. "Don't be mad, Sev. It's Christmas, the time of great joy and giving."

"And I'm going to take great joy in giving you away to a pie factory," grumbled Severus.

He stalked out of his bedroom, his green robe half tied over his pajamas, his hair tousled, and barefoot. The first thing he saw was the empty sofa. "Harry?"

Harry picked himself up from the floor, unable to contain the dopey grin that spread across his face. "Here I am, Uncle Severus."

The Potions Master frowned at him severely. "If I find out you encouraged my rascal of a familiar to wake me up, I'm returning all your presents."

"Me?" Harry gazed at him innocently. "Would I do that?"

"You had better hope not." Severus chided. Then he relented and said, "Happy Christmas, Harry."

"Happy Christmas, Uncle Severus!" He looked over at the tree. "May I open my presents now?"

Severus went and seated himself on the sofa. "Go ahead."

To his surprise, Harry did not dive immediately under the tree in search of his presents. Instead he knelt and began to carefully remove all the presents he could see with Severus' name on them. He then carried them over to the Potions Master. "These are yours, Uncle Sev."

"That wasn't necessary, Harry. I could have Summoned them."

"I was already there, why waste a spell?" his ward pointed out pragmatically. He set down the pile of gifts beside Severus.

Only then did he go and find the boxes and bags with his name on them. He pulled out several that were wrapped in brown paper and began to slowly open them. "This one's from Mrs. Weasley!" Inside was a gold jumper with the letters HPS on it in black. There was also her famous mince pies and fudge. "HPS?" he muttered.

"Harry Potter Snape," Severus told him. "That's a sure sign Molly approves of my guardianship."

Harry opened another gift. This one was from Ron, and it was two chocolate frogs.

_Merlin, more sweets!_ Severus groaned inwardly.

From Hermione there was a book, _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

The twins gave him a book on how to make potions called _Amusing Concoctions_.

Neville sent him Droobles Best Blowing Gum and a pen and ink set with the ink pot shaped like a cauldron.

To Harry's shock, there was even a small box from Draco. He opened it cautiously, half-afraid it might blow up in his face. Inside was a Golden Snitch, signed by some players from the Wimbourne Wasps and a note. The note read—_Potter, thought you could use the practice for next game. Happy Christmas! Malfoy_.

"That is typical Malfoy. A gift with a backhanded compliment," Severus said.

Harry sat back on his heels. He had already received more presents this morning than he ever had in his entire life and there was still many more beneath the tree. He pulled out a box and began to unwrap it slowly.

"Harry, haven't you ever opened presents on Christmas?" Skull queried impatiently. "You needn't take your time with the paper. Here, let me show you how it's done."

The raven promptly landed on a large box and began shredding the paper. A blizzard of colored confetti rained down over them. "There! See? Just rip away!"

Harry stared at the mess, then eyed his guardian.

"Go ahead, Harry, This once, it doesn't matter if the sitting room looks like crepe paper exploded in it." Severus waved a hand.

Harry tore into his gifts with gusto then, and Skull assisted him.

Severus had bought him a whole new wardrobe, from socks and underwear to gloves and a scarf. There was a new broom servicing kit. There was also a certificate to Flourish and Blotts. Harry picked up a small package wrapped in green and gold paper. Inside was a beautiful ivory plated book with a jeweled fox and a cluster of grapes on the cover. When he opened it, he saw that the pages were of heavy parchment with beautifully illuminated illustrations. "_Aesop's Fables_." He read the title aloud. "Uncle Severus, this book . . . it's amazing!"

"It is a reproduction of a medieval illuminated manuscript." Severus said. "I know that you love books as I do, and this was also your mother's favorite collection of stories as a girl. Lily and I used to read them aloud to each other in her backyard when we were nine. I thought it appropriate for your first collectible volume."

Harry gazed up at his guardian and blinked back tears. "It's fantastic. Thank you for everything."

"Wait! You have two more gifts under here," Skullduggery squawked. He pulled out a very tiny box that was labeled, _from the Dursleys_ and another with no name at all.

"Bring me that!" Severus ordered sharply, mindful of the last time someone had sent Harry an anonymous gift.

Skull obeyed, and Severus began to cast detection spells over the package.

Harry opened the gift from the Dursleys. It was a crumpled tissue.

"That's disgusting!" Skull spat. "Severus, look at what those arses gave him for a present!"

"What?" Severus looked up, an odd light in his eyes. Inwardly, he was cursing Dumbledore furiously.

"It's a tissue," Harry said, holding it up. He felt a pang of sorrow, though he knew they had never really cared about him.

"They gave you a _tissue_?" growled Snape, his eyes hardening. "Those miserable—" he broke off abruptly. "Pay it no mind, Harry. Throw it in the rubbish along with them." He set the mysterious package on the sofa and rose. "Come. You can open this later. I have one more gift for you."

"More? But . . . you already bought me too much!"

"No, I haven't. Follow me."

Mystified, Harry followed the professor back towards a door that until now had always been closed.

Severus opened it, then gestured. "Go on in. This belongs to you. Because everyone needs a room of one's own."

Harry took two steps and lights came on.

There was a thick carpet on the floor of a plush winter blue with black diamonds scattered through it. The room was almost as big as the one in Gryffindor Tower, and came complete with his own four poster bed, done in matching colors, a huge bookshelf, a desk, chair, and nightstand, plus a very large armoire. All of the furniture was done in a reddish mahogany and there was a fake "window" on the left side that was charmed to show a view of the lake and the grounds. The walls were painted a swirled smoky blue and white and when he looked up at the ceiling, he saw it had been charmed to resemble the night sky.

"So you don't feel closed in," the professor explained at Harry's quizzical look. "Do you like it? If you wish a different color scheme or furniture, let me know. I can change it to whatever you prefer. You may decorate the walls as you choose."

Harry just stared, overwhelmed. He knew Severus had promised to give him his own bedroom down here, but he had never expected anything like this! He had thought it would be a tiny room with a bed and maybe a chest of drawers. "I . . . It's . . ." he stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"You needn't spare my feelings if you dislike it," the Potions Master began, mistakenly assuming from Harry's response that the boy hated the room.

"Dislike it? It's . . . the best room ever!" Harry cried, then he turned and buried his face in Severus' robes, crying silently.

Astonished, the Potions Master hugged him. "Harry, what's wrong? You needn't be afraid to tell me the truth. I . . . I'm not going to be angry . . ."

Harry shook his head. " . . .don't unnerstand . . ." his words were muffled by Snape's robe. " . . . nobody's ever given me anything like this . . . I keep thinking I'm dreaming . . ."

"Child, I promise you you're not." Severus stroked his hair, finally understanding the reason why his ward was crying his eyes out. "This is something you should have had long ago and it is my privilege to give it to you."

Harry clung to him a moment more before pulling away. "Sorry. Didn't mean to act like a baby. It's just . . . I can't thank you enough . . ."

"You don't need to. As long as you are my ward, you shall have your own room and anything else you might need. That is what I would do for my own son, and it is what you deserve as my ward. I promised you this and I always keep my promises."

Harry smiled up at him, brushing away the tears with the back of his hand. "All right. Come on, Uncle Sev. You need to open your gifts and I need to see what's in that last package."

They returned to the sitting room, and Harry opened the unmarked package. He shook out a silky silvery cloak. "This is nice. Who's it from?"

"The card is unsigned. It merely says, _This belonged to your father. Use it wisely._" Severus said, clenching his teeth. He knew only one person who could have sent this to Harry.

"This cloak was my dad's?" Harry examined it. The fabric was very fine and light.

"Yes, and it is a very valuable heirloom. It is an Invisibility Cloak. Put it on and pull up the hood and you shall disappear."

Harry did so. "Wicked!" He threw off the hood.

"Harry, I am going to ask you to do a difficult thing. The Invisibility Cloak is a powerful item, but it is not to be used lightly. In times past, members of your family have used it to escape dangerous situations. But it should not be used to wander about the school at night, causing mischief. That is how your father used it when he went to school here. As a tool to play pranks upon people. I understand that it's tempting to use it that way when you are a child. It is why I must ask you to give it to me for safekeeping. There is no need for you to use it here at school. I shall return it to you when you are of age, and therefore responsible enough to use it wisely. Barring that, if it ever became necessary for you to hide, the cloak would be returned to you."

Harry hesitated. A small part of him was howling—_no, you can't have it, it's mine!_ But another part, the more grown-up part, was whispering that Severus was right, he would be tempted to use the cloak wrongly, and after all the other had done for him, it was a small price to pay. He stroked the fabric longingly. Then he made up his mind.

He removed the cloak and handed it to Severus.

The Potions Master took the cloak and said, "I'm proud of you, Harry." With a wave of his wand, he sent the cloak zooming into a trunk. Then he sat down and began to open his gifts.

When he finally opened Harry's gift, the boy was practically dancing with impatience. "Now, what have we here? A magazine subscription. To a potions periodical I don't currently have. Dark chocolate—my favorite." He unwrapped the slippers. "New slippers, excellent!" He promptly placed the slippers on the floor and put his feet in them, they magically re-sized to fit him. "And a blooming cactus." He gently set down the cactus on the table. "Between this and the coffee that Lena gave to me, I am quite ready to relax for an hour or two. Thank you, Harry. That was very thoughtful of you." He gave the boy a hug. "It's too bad I can't start using some of this right now. However, we have been invited for breakfast in Irma's quarters by Lena. Go and change into a new outfit, Harry. One should never keep ladies waiting."

Severus waved his wand and the mess of paper and ribbon was cleaned up and all of Harry's clothing, shoes, and other gifts were floated into his new room. He carefully chose a new outfit and put it on, excited to join the librarians for breakfast and taste Lena's cappuccino. This was turning out to be the best Christmas he had ever had. He couldn't wait to show Ron his new room, and he hoped his friend was having as good a Christmas as he was.

By the time Harry emerged from his room, Severus was waiting, dressed in a new emerald green shirt and black trousers with shiny black boots and a green overrobe. "Very nice, Harry."

"My, don't you look handsome!" Skull remarked, preening his feathers. "Black and gold, very good color combination. Lena will be pleased." The raven playfully tugged on a lock of Severus' hair. "Of course, we won't mention how shocked she'll be to see Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome in something besides basic black for once, now will we?"

"Skullduggery, behave." Severus ordered, the hint of a smile upon his face. He held open the door and the raven and Harry exited.

Together, they walked down the hall, Skullduggery flying ahead, singing _White Christmas_, in the late Bing Crosby's distinctive voice.


	17. Uncommon Conversations

**17**

**Uncommon Conversations**

_Irma's quarters_

_Christmas morning:_

"Do come in, Severus and Harry!" Irma greeted, she was wearing a quilted blue robe with stylized ravens and eagles imprinted on it, and matching shoes. She looked quite relaxed, her nez pince glasses hanging on a gold cord about her neck. Her graying brown hair, normally in a severe bun, was pulled back in a casual tail and decorated with a pretty blue ribbon. "And Skullduggery too!" she added as the raven glided down to alight on his wizard's shoulder. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas, Irma. Thank you for inviting us," Severus said, giving her a slight bow.

"Happy Christmas, Madam Pince," Harry said politely, following his guardian's suit.

"Come, Lena is just finishing setting the table." Madam Pince beckoned them into her sitting room.

"Merry Christmas to all here!" Skull called.

Harry looked about curiously, for he had never been inside Madam Pince's quarters. To his surprise, the librarian's sitting room was cozy and warm—done with deep gold earth tones and navy blue covered furniture accented with golden oak. The fire was blazing, lending both warmth and a sweet apple and cinnamon scent to the air. The mantle was decorated by swags of fir and holly, wrapped with light blue and silver ribbon and ornaments. Along the right hand corner was a large bookshelf filled with many leatherbound volumes, a wingback chair sat next to them, along with a small reading table and a tall wrought iron lamp.

The sofa had been moved to accommodate a large round table filled with all sorts of breakfast foods, and carafes of tea, coffee, juice, and cappuccino and espresso. Lena was there, arranging the china, which was gold with a blue leaf pattern, and silverware. Four chairs were set about the table, as well as a perch for Skullduggery.

Lena looked up at their entrance, a smile stealing over her features. She was dressed in a frosted blue gown, simple yet elegant with tapering sleeves and seed pearls and crystals lining the top of the bodice. Hanging about her neck upon a velvet ribbon was a silver and gold raven charm. Her hair was loose and flowing and she had a headband decorated with silvery snowflakes about it. The dress set off her honey-gold hair and made her eyes even bluer. She wore long silver bells in her ears that chimed gently when she moved. "Happy Christmas, Severus, Harry, and Skullduggery! Or, as my father would say, _Buon Natale_!"

"_Grazie, signorina Rosario._" Severus said, giving his colleague an appreciative smile. "_Lei e bellissima."_

Lena blushed. "You are too kind, sir. That robe becomes you exceedingly well. Green is definitely your color. I wasn't aware you spoke Italian, Severus."

"Only a little." Severus replied. "I have just about exhausted my knowledge of it."

"Please, sit down. I'm so glad you could come. My mother sent all of this to me and Aunt Irma, much of it is homemade; she thinks we starve here at school." Lena chuckled and indicated all the silver trays and bowls.

"Doesn't she know about the house elves?" Harry blurted.

"Of course, but she claims that magic cannot replace authentic Italian cooking. Thus, the Christmas breakfast baskets."

Once they were all seated, Lena asked what everyone wished to drink.

Severus had espresso, Irma some cinnamon spice tea, and Lena and Harry had cappuccino.

To his surprise, Harry found the cappuccino delightful, not horrendously bitter, but mellow and creamy and with the right amount of sugar, satisfyingly sweet. "Lena, it's . . .wonderful!"

"Isn't it? I miss making a freshly brewed pot every morning," she said, sipping her own. "This was made by my dad and shipped through Express Post. I know the elves would try and make it if I asked, but as Mum always says, there are somethings magic cannot duplicate and this is one of them."

"I quite agree," Severus said, drinking down his espresso. "This is superb, I haven't had espresso since I attended an International Potions Conference two years ago." He poured himself another shot.

Harry eyed the tiny cup and said, puzzled, "Uncle Sev, why is the cup so small? It looks like hardly a mouthful."

"It's small because it's very strong," Severus answered. "You probably wouldn't like it."

"May I try?" Harry asked.

Lena floated a cup over to him. He sipped it and grimaced. "Ugh! How can you drink that?"

Severus smirked. "You know how I like my coffee, Harry."

"Yeah, but . . . that stuff could strip paint." His ward said, then took a long drink of his cappuccino.

"Help yourselves," Irma said.

There were platters of crispy bacon and fat grilled Italian sausage with sage, there were apricot and almond biscotti, as well as chocolate ones. There was a large cast iron skillet with something called frittata, an Italian omelet with eggs, zucchini, onion, peppers, and a layer of crunchy potatoes on the bottom, seasoned with garlic and other spices and sprinkled with cheddar cheese. There were warm rolls, with several spreads, like Welsh rarebit, and Seville orange marmalade, butter, and clotted cream. There was a lovely basket of fresh fruit, it contained figs, apples, winter plums, nectarines, grapes, and bananas. There was cinnamon French toast with golden syrup or honey to spread on it.

Severus fixed a small plate for Skull, with pieces of sausage, bacon, the omelet, and pieces of nectarine, grapes , and French toast. He levitated it over to the raven's perch and Skull began to eat hungrily, making happy noises of satisfaction.

Harry couldn't believe how delicious everything was. He tried a little of everything and then went back for seconds. He noticed that Severus did also, and some of his choices were also Harry's favorites as well, like the frittata and sausage. Harry loved the winter plums, which were sweet and juicy with deep red inside. "These are amazing!"

Lena chuckled. "Yes, the plums are always my favorite too."

"I prefer nectarines and the figs," Severus said, eating another of each. Then he pushed his plate away. "If I eat any more, I won't be able to move. This was a fabulous meal, ladies. I have never had better."

"Me either," said Harry.

"It was delicious!" Skull squawked in agreement, nibbling upon a biscotti.

"Thank you for the lovely book, Severus," Lena said. "I have never seen an illuminated manuscript of Thomas More's _Utopia_. It's gorgeous."

"And thank you for the coffee package," Severus said. "I shall make good use of it."

Just then, there came a loud hoot outside the door, and Irma opened it to see a large gray owl hovering with a small package. It flew in and delivered it to Harry, dropping it in his lap before flying off again.

Harry examined the package, then looked at Severus and said, "It's from Wizarding Occulars. I think it's my new glasses."

"About time!" Skull remarked.

Harry opened the package, and sure enough, there were his brand new glasses with slender gold wire frames. They were neat looking and best of all, he could see much better with them on. He removed his old ones and put his new ones on. "Wow! Everything's so much clearer!"

"And you look much handsomer with them," Irma teased. "Funny, how a new pair of glasses can make you feel like a different person."

Harry looked down at his old ones. "What do I do with these?"

"Throw them out," Severus said. He waved his wand and Harry's old glasses vanished.

Skullduggery peered at Harry and said, "Now you can see with the eyes of a falcon, _bran-boy_." Abruptly he turned about and tugged on a smallish tail feather. He presented it to Harry. "Here. A present from me. You can make it into a quill, Sev can show you how. Spells and potion recipes written with a raven quill can only be read by the holder, it's the ultimate way to disguise your thoughts and personal inventions. Also, when necessary, you can use a quill for defense, place a Sharpness Charm on it and you'll have a fine weapon, better than any knife. for the pen really is mightier than the sword."

Harry's eyes widened. "Thanks, Skull! That's wicked!"

Skull made a curious trilling and gurgling sound, it sounded like _kmmm-grrr_.

Lena eyed the raven thoughtfully. "Skullduggery, is it true that ravens have their own tongue, one that is different from the way other birds communicate?"

The raven bobbed his head affirmatively. "It is, Mistress. We call it Ravenspeak, and we were using vocal language long before humans. In fact, there is a legend about Raven teaching humans to speak properly."

"That's fascinating!" Lena exclaimed. "That sound you made just before, was that something in Ravenspeak?"

"It was. It was a vocalization of affection, for I do love Harry and Sev best." Skull answered.

"This Ravenspeak . . . can anyone learn it?" asked Irma.

"If they are patient and listen well, yes. Sev knows Ravenspeak, I taught him myself when first I chose him. It is difficult for humans to reproduce the sounds, but you can learn to comprehend it."

"Could you teach us?" Lena asked eagerly, sounding like an excited child.

"I can. I shall begin by telling you that Ravenspeak is comprised of both calls and posture, fluffing of feathers and so forth. Here. This means, hello and I love you." He walked over to Harry and bumped his head against Harry's forehead and made the odd trilling purr again.

Then Skull stepped back and posed, fluffing his feathers up and making his ear feathers stand erect, looking as if he were sporting horns on his head. "Knock knock knock." He made a curious sound like the rapping of a fist on a door.

"That means "look at me" and is a raven's power call." Severus explained. "They use that along with the posture to show rank and dominance among a flock of ravens."

"A flock of ravens is sometimes called a conspiracy," Lena said. "I know that much from my reading."

"Yes, that's right." Skull agreed. "Or, if you are speaking of the ravens that live about the Tower in London, where my family still dwells, they call us a constable. Because we watch and guard against the dark."

"Skull what are those feathers on your head? They look kind of like horns," observed Harry.

"These?" the raven playfully waggled them. "Long ago, some silly superstitious humans thought it meant we were devil birds." He made a sarcastic hoot. "Stupid! We are the ones who guard against the dark. We are not in league with them." He ruffled his feathers and his ear feathers flattened.

"What else can you say in Ravenspeak?" Irma asked. "And do you mind if I take notes? I would love to write a paper on it."

The bird clicked his tongue and said, "So long as your paper is for members of the Society only."

"Of course. You honor us." Irma said, inclining her head in respect.

"Here's a call you all should be familiar with." Skullduggery said, and puffed out his chest and gave a very loud cackle. "KEK KEK KEK!"

"That's a raven's alarm call. It means "danger" or "get away from here"." Severus translated.

"We give that call when we don't care for someone visiting the Tower," Skull added. "Or sometimes we use this call-_ca ca ca ca_. That means—_I am angry, and wish to bite you_, or_ leave me alone, idiot!_"

Harry laughed at that. "I've heard you give that cry before, when Malfoy attacked me that night."

"Indeed," Skull snorted. "And then I nipped him, the rotten brat!"

He then proceeded to make some crooning and small growling noises which he said were how a parent raven spoke to a nestling and sounded remarkably like a lullaby. The nestling's reply sounded very like a baby wailing. He showed her the typical strutting posture most people were familiar with, and the puffed up hissing posture that was meant to frighten away enemies, especially other birds intent upon harming their young. He also showed them the flattened feathers and lowered head of a submissive young raven.

Irma wrote down everything Severus and Skullduggery told her, later she would transcribe the information into a concise paper about Ravenspeak. "I believe many of our scholars in the Society would love to learn about this."

"Thank you, Skull, for teaching us," Lena said.

The raven ducked his head, almost as if he were embarrassed. Then he cawed, "It was my pleasure."

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas breakfast, the first Harry could remember where he didn't have to cook or clean or get scolded by his aunt or uncle.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Later, he went and found Ron and told him about his presents and showed him his new room. The red-haired wizard was very impressed. "Blimey, Harry! It's so big!" He bounced upon the bed. "Who would have thought Snape would give you such a nice room?"

"He said that everyone needs a room of their own and this is what he would do if I . . . were really his son." Harry said quietly.

Ron's eyebrows rose into his hair. "Really? Then I guess . . . he really does care for you. I'm glad, Harry. Your relatives sound like nasty buggers, you're well shut of them."

"Don't I know it!" Harry bounced on the other side of the bed, just because he could.

"Let's go play in the snow, Harry," suggested Ron. "There's a fresh coat of snow."

Harry agreed and the two friends raced out of Snape's quarters and through the dungeons until they reached the Entrance Hall. There they met the twins and their potions professor, who had just come from Dumbledore's office.

Severus frowned at his ward. "And just where are you two going?"

"To play outside, sir," Ron answered.

"Not without a coat, scarf, gloves and a hat you aren't," the professor reminded.

Only then did both boys realize they weren't dressed properly and they groaned.

"Blast! I left my coat and everything in my room!" Harry cried in dismay.

Severus Summoned them as well as Ron's things. "There! You may play outside until dinner. In the meantime, I am going to read."

"Have fun!" Harry grinned, knowing Severus was going to relax with his magazine and probably a cup of coffee.

Ron yanked his cap down over his eyes, then dashed away out the door. "Harry, come and get me!"

Harry shoved up his hat then raced after his friend.

The twins decided to join them, mostly for the fun of tackling their little brother into snow drifts.

The four boys threw snowballs at each other, made snow people, and even a wizard snowman, complete with a snow owl on its arm.

Fred and George challenged Ron and Harry to a snow war, and built snow forts at opposite ends of the Quidditch pitch. Then they began to battle.

At first, Harry and Ron got the worst of it, because the twins were devilishly coordinated and threw snowballs at a furious rate. Despite all they could do, Fred and George had them pinned down.

Until a dark shape zoomed overhead, and began dropping snow-coated pinecones down upon the twins, cawing loudly—KEK KEK KEK!

"Ow!"

"Hey, Skull, what's up?"

The raven flew overhead, doing aerial acrobatics. He flipped over, somersaulting on the air, flew backwards, then grabbed some snow off a branch and dive bombed, scoring a direct hit in George's eye. "Bullseye!"

"Whoo hoo!" Ron yelled. "Way to go, Skull!"

"Score one for the raven!" Harry whooped. "Do it again, Skull!"

The raven made a clicking noise and flew off to grab more pinecones.

With Skullduggery's aerial assistance, Harry and Ron were victorious.

The twins were good sports however, and congratulated them and their sneaky conspirator. They put their arms about Harry and Ron and escorted them back to the castle, as it was close to dinner. Skullduggery flew overhead.

"Clever, baby brother!" chuckled Fred.

"You sure had us fooled!" George agreed. They winked at each other.

"Never start a war with a raven," Ron boasted.

"True!"

Then Ron and Harry yelped as the twins dumped the snow they had hidden in their gloves down the boys' backs.

"Ahhh! Fred, you prat!" Ron cried, wriggling to try and get the snow off.

"Now don't say I never gave you anything, Ronnie!"

Harry was shivering and jumping up and down. "Ohh! It's freezing!"

Laughing, the twins darted inside, leaving the younger wizards to help each other remove the snow down their necks and back.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Dinner in the Great Hall was incredible. The hall was decorated with at least eighteen Christmas trees of all sizes, some with real snow on them and others with twinkling magical lights and pretty ornaments. The walls were festooned with holly, ivy, and evergreen boughs. There was even a mistletoe hanging up in the middle of the room. Soft festive music played as the staff and the students remaining at the school entered.

Harry hesitated as the Weasleys—Ron, the twins, and Percy—sat down at the Gryffindor table. Should he sit with his friends, or with his guardian at the High Table?

Percy saw his indecision and said, "Go on Harry, go and sit with Professor Snape. It's traditional for family to sit together for Christmas dinner. Since you have a guardian on staff, you get to sit up there with him."

Harry looked up at the staff table and saw an extra place was laid beside Severus' chair, inbetween him and McGonagall. "See you later, Ron," he waved and then hurried up to the high table. Severus, Lena, and Irma appeared in the hall a few moments later. Skull was flying over their heads, singing "We Three Kings", and other Christmas carols in different voices.

He circled the staff table and landed on the arm of Harry's chair, singing "Away in a Manger" lustily. "Hey, _bran-boy_! How are you enjoying your Christmas?"

"It's been . . . amazing, Skull."

"Good! But just wait till you see the feast."

As if on cue, the food appeared on all the tables in the hall.

Harry nearly toppled over.

There were over a hundred turkeys, roasted to a golden crisp perfection. There were boats of rich gravy and sweet cranberry sauce. Mountains of mashed and roasted potatoes, buttered peas, and stuffing were served. At each plate was a wizard cracker and more were stacked in the center.

"Oooh! A wizard cracker!" exclaimed Skull, looking like a kid seeing a forbidden treat. "Here, Harry, I shall pull one end." The raven grasped the red ribbon at one end in his beak. Then he walked backwards, tugging hard.

Harry pulled the other end, and the cracker exploded with a tremendous bang and a cloud of purple smoke.

Harry coughed, waving away the smoke, and found three white mice and a wizard chess set inside. "Awesome! Are they all like this?" he asked the raven.

"They all have different prizes inside. Yum! A mice appetizer!" Skull trilled, then he proceeded to swoop down upon the mice, catching two by their tails in his beak and one in his talons. He then flew up to perch in the rafters to eat his appetizer, one of a raven's favorite foods was mice.

"Well done, Harry!" clapped Dumbledore. He had exchanged his pointed hat for a poinsettia-bedecked broadbrimmed one. He laughed at a joke Flitwick told him, looking very jolly.

Harry looked up when Snape joined him, the professor gallantly assisted Lena into her seat before he sat in his own.

"Are you going to pull your cracker, Uncle Severus?" Harry asked.

Severus shook his head. He really was too old for all this cracker nonsense, but he told Harry to grab one end and together they pulled it.

This time the cracker gave a whistle like a train, loud and long and shot colored sparks when it exploded.

Inside was a neon chameleon and a hat shaped like a cauldron that shot green and silver bubbles into the air. Severus quickly corralled the chameleon, and stuck the animal into a pocket. Chameleons were prized in potion making for their skin. He looked at the hat in distaste. "Does he really expect me to put this on?" he grumbled.

"Why not?" Harry smirked. "It's perfect for you!"

"Please," Severus rolled his eyes.

"Put it on, Sev! It's tradition!" urged his familiar.

Snape scowled. "I don't believe in this tradition."

"Oh, Severus, you must wear it," Lena said. "It's just for fun, look at the ridiculous necklace I'm wearing." She indicated the chicken foot necklace she had on, it was withered and ugly and it had a candy-cane colored ribbon attached to it with some feathers.

"Merlin, woman!" Severus gasped. "That is repulsive!"

"I know, but who cares?" she laughed. "Come on, Snape. Join the party!"

Muttering something under his breath, Severus picked up the bubbling cauldron hat and put it on.

"You look smashing, Severus," Lena giggled.

"Man, you are _smokin'_!" Skull whooped in his best gangster imitation. He began flying about popping the bubbles. "It's the Voodoo Queen and the Cauldron King!"

Harry turned away, trying to muffle his giggles.

"Why, Severus, are you starting a new trend?" McGonagall teased.

Severus just rolled his eyes.

"Good show, Severus!" Dumbledore applauded. "I was hoping you'd open that one."

When everyone had opened their crackers, Dumbledore gestured for them to all start eating.

Severus quickly removed the cauldron derby and stuck it into the middle of the table. He then helped himself to some turkey and the other sides, his face tinged a faint red. He turned to his ward, who was still snickering into his napkin. "Harry, quit sniggering and eat." He waved his wand and a Nutrient Potion popped up. "But first, drink this."

Harry obeyed. Then he dug into the feast. After the main course came thirty flaming Christmas puddings and small handheld apple pies. There was strawberry shortcake as well, though Skullduggery flew down and snitched the strawberry right off the top of one. Sparkling fruit punch was served to the children and the adults had cranberry Christmas wine.

Harry was allowed to open four more crackers, inside he received a pair of Ever-Warming Socks, which always kept your feet warm even in the snow, he also got a Grow Your Own Venomous Tantagula kit, and the last item was a plush snake, it was silvery gray with red eyes, resembling an ashwinder. Harry tucked his loot into a canvas bag he won in a cracker and set it by his feet.

He happily ate a slice of pudding, and then a pie. Even Severus indulged himself and ate some pie. Skullduggery was served a slice of pudding and plucked a silver Sickle from it. "Ha! I'm lucky!" He loved shiny things, like any raven, and happily tossed the coin up in the air and caught it in his beak.

After dinner, Harry opted to return to Gryffindor Tower and play wizard chess with Ron. "But I'll be back to sleep in my new room," he reassured Severus, not wanting the man to think he was snubbing him or being unappreciative.

"Off with you, child. I would hardly expect you to remain with me every moment as if you were a toddler." Severus waved him off.

Harry scampered off with the Weasleys and spent the evening getting his arse kicked by Ron in chess. But they also had lots of fun toasting marshmallows over the fire in the common room, and they ate a light supper together of sandwiches, crisps, trifle, and Christmas cake.

The clock struck ten and Harry found himself yawning over his chess board. "Guess I better get some sleep," he told his friend, packing away his set. "G'night, Ron. I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast."

He made his way down the stairs to Snape's quarters, the school felt eerie without the rest of the students there, and once or twice Harry froze and glanced behind him. He felt oddly as if eyes were following him or watching him, even though there were no portraits along the dungeon walls. He clutched his wand in one hand and half-ran through the dungeons until he reached Snape's suite. Then he leaned against the door, getting his breath back and chiding himself for acting like a scaredycat. He'd had too much sugar and his imagination was running away with him, conjuring up phantoms.

But he breathed a soft sigh of relief when he turned the doorknob and entered the room, safe at last.

He found Severus still up, reading from a thick tome, and a cup of Black Diamond was at his elbow. Skull was dozing on the sofa back, his head tucked under his wing. He opened one eye and lifted his head long enough to discern it was Harry returning, then fell asleep again.

"I'm back."

"Obviously," Severus drawled. "Did you enjoy your evening?"

"Very much. How about you?"

" I spent the time reading, among other things. It was very relaxing."

Harry was pleased that his gift was working out so well. He went into his new room to change into pajamas and unpack the sack with the presents he'd gotten from the wizard crackers. He picked up the snake plushie and held it at arms length for a few moments, thinking hard. Then he tucked it under his arm and went back out into the sitting area.

Severus was staring into the fire and he seemed pensive and sad, no longer relaxed. The book lay forgotten in his lap.

Harry bit his lip and worried it back and forth. He was unsure if he should interrupt his guardian's melancholy reverie. The black eyes were distant, as if he recalled something long ago . . . or maybe someone. Like Lily. Harry watched silently for a few moments more, remembering that like himself, Severus must have spent many holidays alone, as he had no family to share them with. Except Skull. And though the raven was a terrific familiar, there were some things he could not do. Such as give the older man a hug.

Harry recalled all the times he crouched alone in the cupboard or forgotten in the hall, watching Petunia and even Vernon lavish attention and hugs on Dudley. He remembered how badly he wished for someone to hug him that way. He wondered suddenly if Severus had ever wished that too. But like Harry, there had been no one around who cared, or maybe even dared, to do so.

But now there was.

Harry moved softly across the floor until he was standing beside the dark-haired wizard. "Uncle Severus? Are you all right?" He touched the other lightly on the hand.

Severus blinked and twitched, brought back from his reverie. He looked over at Harry and said, "I'm fine. Just remembering . . .that's all."

"Something bad?"

"No, just . . . nostalgic for days gone by, when your mother and I were innocent children. Ignore me."

But Harry heard what Severus did not say, that he missed Lily and remembering her was better than being alone on Christmas. Without pausing to think, he quickly removed the ashwinder plushie from under his arm and set it in the other's lap.

Severus stared down at the coiled snake.

"Harry, what is the meaning of this?"

"Well, sir, I thought you could use a friend."

"Do I look like a child to you?" Snape scowled warningly.

"No, but . . .everyone needs something to hug."

Severus was speechless. At first he was tempted to snap at the boy, but then he saw that Harry was not mocking him, or making light of his feelings, the boy was trying to comfort him. His hand darted out to touch the plush snake.

Harry gulped, sure Severus was going to yell. The Potions Master had the strangest look on his face. As if he weren't sure if he should be angry or shocked. It had been a stupid idea. What had he been thinking? "Sorry, sir. I just thought . . ." He reached out to take the snake back. "Forget it. I'll just go to bed now."

But before he could grab the snake, Snape's hand closed over his own. Obsidian eyes met emerald. Wordlessly, the professor found himself opening his arms, inviting the boy to hug him.

Harry felt a warm glow spread through him. Severus understood, he was not offended. He slipped his arms about the other's middle and hugged him.

An instant later he felt strong arms clasp him and hold him close.

Harry instinctively tucked his head beneath Snape's chin and rested his cheek upon Severus' chest. He had never really been held in his life, except after the troll incident in the library, and he should have felt awkward and uncomfortable. Instead he felt safe and protected, but most of all, loved. He remained in Snape's lap for a few moments more, basking in the wizard's approval before finally withdrawing.

"Thanks, Uncle Severus."

"No, Harry. It is I who should thank you. For reminding me that Christmas is a time of joy, not sorrow." He ruffled the boy's hair, then pointed to Harry's room. "Bed, Mr. Potter. It's eleven o'clock."

"'Night, sir." He went obediently towards his room, but couldn't resist glancing back.

He saw the professor rise and . . . take the snake plushie with him as he headed into his suite.

It had been the perfect end to the perfect day, Harry thought as he crawled beneath the covers. And tomorrow would be better still.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*Break**

Two days after Christmas, Harry received his marks for the first term. He had gotten E's in Potions, Transfiguration, and Astronomy, an O in Flying, and A's in the rest of his classes. "These are acceptable marks for your first term," Severus told him. "However, I would like to see some improvement in those classes you received A's in by next term, and perhaps even an O in one or two of the classes with E's."

"Yes, sir. I'll try and bring my marks up. But we don't really do any practical spells in Defense, it's so boring."

"I can tutor you in Defense over break. Meet me in the Defense classroom at eleven AM."

Harry brightened. "That would be great. Uh, should I tell Ron I'm having extra lessons?"

Severus considered. "You may as well. In fact, if he wishes, Mr. Weasley may participate also."

Ron was only too happy to join Harry, and learn some useful spells, even the twins participated on occasion, for a refresher course. The first thing Severus taught them was to always be alert to their surroundings, and to be prepared for almost anything. The first spell he taught them was a Shield Charm, a standard all-purpose spell to repel most curses and hexes.

"A Shield Charm's strength is proportionate to both a wizard's personal magical strength and the level of the caster. Therefore, my shield or Frederick and George's shield will be much stronger than yours, Ronald, and Harry's as well. You can also use it as perimeter spell, to ward off a specific type of magic or monster. There is one spell that a Shield Charm cannot protect against, and I'm sure you can guess what it is."

"The Killing Curse," Ron said.

"Correct. No Shield Charm can deflect it, it is a curse so powerful that it renders all attempts to block it with magic null and void, as far as we know."

"Then how did Harry survive it?" Ron wondered.

"That, Ronald, is a mystery we have yet to solve. For now, concentrate upon keeping your shield up as I cast," ordered the professor, and began to cast minor jinxes at the boys, such as Tickling Hexes and the like.

Harry found the Shield Spell very useful, and wished he had known it when Malfoy dueled him, it might have prevented him from getting his arm broken. Severus was a thorough but strict teacher, making them re-do a spell until they had it right and could cast it without hesitation.

They learned several minor jinxes and their counters also, like the Tickling Curse, the Leg-Locker Curse, which was Ron's favorite, a Stammering Jinx, a Sneezing Jinx—the twins loved that spell, a Butterfingers Hex, and even a Freezing Jinx, which froze a person in place for several minutes.

"You will note that some jinxes—like the Sneezing Jinx or the Butterfingers Hex-aren't all that harmful, but do make the target uncomfortable for several minutes. You do not necessarily have to kill your opponent in order to win a conflict, and usually an opponent is prepared to defend against the more powerful curses, but fails to deflect minor ones. Casting a Butterfingers Hex makes a wand too slippery to hold, as Harry demonstrated, while a Sneezing or Stammering Jinx makes it nearly impossible to cast spells, since you cannot speak correctly. Any of those spells will enable you to flee from a stronger adversary."

"But sir, isn't running away like cowardice?" Ron asked.

"At this stage, Mr. Weasley, you have almost no chance of surviving a duel with a wizard who truly means you harm. There is an old Muggle saying, _he who runs away, lives to fight another day_. Survival should be your primary concern, not victory. Use your head and the common sense you were born with and you shall survive. In a spell duel, he who walks away is the winner, not the one who risks his neck foolishly."

"Oh. That makes sense."

Severus told them about a standard Disarming Charm, but said it was beyond their capabilities at this time, and he would show them that spell next year. "It's a favorite of any duelist, but it can be blocked, so don't rely upon it exclusively."

After each lesson the boys came away dripping with sweat and aching, but neither complained. They improved little by little, until Harry was confident that next time Malfoy tried to hex him, he could give as good as he got.

In light of the attacks on his ward, Severus constructed a protective charm for Harry. "Wear this at all times, even in the shower," Snape told him. "It shall protect you from most harmful curses and poisons as well."

The pendant was silver, shaped like a shield with a flying raven embossed in the center. When Harry put it on, he felt a cool tingling sensation wash over him. "Thanks, Severus."

"There is no need to thank me. Had I known the way trouble seems to follow you, I would have made one of these for you long ago."

"Better late than never," Skull quipped.

Once Defense lessons were over, Harry was free to spend time with Ron, and most times the boys spent it outside, playing in the snow and wandering the grounds. One afternoon, Hagrid invited them for tea, and while they were sitting at the table, Ron suddenly recalled something.

"Hey Harry, did you ever figure out what was in that package Snape brought back from Gringotts? The one he was so mysterious about?"

Harry shook his head. "No. He wouldn't say. Told me it was top secret and I shouldn't ask questions."

"Hermione and I think it had something to do with the break-in at Gringotts. Those thieves mist have been looking for whatever it was. Maybe Snape hid it somewhere, like in his office. Didn't you say he keeps things locked up in a desk drawer?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to snoop around in his office, Ron. He'd have a fit."

"Indeed he would, and rightly so, lads. Professor Snape is very private, he is." Hagrid scolded. "Best if you stay out of business that doesn't concern you, what's in that package is top secret and known only to Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry repeated. "Who's he?"

Hagrid looked rueful. "Ah, me and my big mouth. Forget about it, there's naught down that road but trouble."

But of course this only peaked the boys' curiosity.

"I've heard that name before, I know it," Ron said as they headed back to the castle. "I just can't remember where."

"We can look it up in _Famous Witches and Wizards of the 20th Century_," Harry suggested. Severus had a copy of that book on his shelf and Harry was free to borrow it.

But Flamel's name was not among the witches and wizards listed. They asked the twins, but they didn't recall who he was either. "Somebody famous." Was all either of them remembered.

They had an impromptu snowball fight and buried Ron under a foot of snow. As a result, Ron came down with a nasty cold the next morning. He tried to ignore it and pretend he was fine, but he coughed and sneezed all through breakfast.

"You ought to take a Pepperup Potion and go to bed for the rest of the day," said Percy.

"No, I'm fine," his brother protested.

"I quite agree, Percival," Skullduggery fluttered down to land on the table, speaking in Snape's voice.

Ron scowled. "Well, I don't!"

Skull clucked his beak in reproof. "Mind the attitude! I was sent here to tell you to drink the potion that shall appear on the table and then go straight to bed, no arguments."

At that precise moment, a potion popped up in front of Ron.

"Bed! But I just got up!" Ron argued.

"Or else I shall come over and spoonfeed it to you like a toddler in front of everyone and carry you to bed," Skull threatened in Snape's silky tones. "Which shall it be?"

Ron blanched. "Fine! I'll take it!" He uncorked the vial.

Ten minutes later, Ron was in bed, the Pepperup Potion tended to make you drowsy, and he soon fell asleep.

There was no Defense lesson that day, as Severus was brewing counterdrafts for next term and so Harry was at loose ends. He didn't feel like reading or walking outside, the wind was bitter today and the last thing he wanted was to come down with a cold like Ron. He wanted to figure out who Flamel was, but didn't feel like doing research alone. Bored, he headed up to Gryffindor Tower to see if the twins wanted to play chess, but they weren't around. Sighing, he walked down the row of portraits, and suddenly noticed a door on the right hand side that had never been there before.

Before he could think better of it, he had turned the knob and stepped inside.

The room looked like an unused classroom, filled with scratched up desks and broken chairs and there was a thick carpet of dust upon the floor. Harry walked through it, leaving small footprints. The room was dim, so he lit up his wand. It was then that he saw the large ornate mirror standing off to one side of the teacher's desk.

Harry had never seen anything like it. It had a gold frame carved with flying creatures and across the top was inscribed _Erised_ along with some other words Harry couldn't comprehend. The mirror was taller than he was, and it too was covered with dust. Wishing to see his reflection, Harry dug a handkerchief with the Slytherin crest out of his pocket, it had once belonged to Severus, and began to rub away the dust over the face.

Clouds of dust flew everywhere and Harry coughed and rubbed his eyes, they stung. Finally, all the dust was removed and Harry peered at the mirror.

But instead of his reflection he saw an odd mist, it shifted and swirled, as if it were alive, and trapped behind the glass. A moment later it cleared and he caught a glimpse of himself, and three figures—two he recognized as Severus and Lily and the other must be his father, James. They were standing there smiling, and Lily and Severus had their hands on his shoulders. The image was so lifelike that Harry spun round, expecting to see his parents and Snape behind him.

The room was empty.

"Huh? What was that?" he slowly turned about again to face the mirror. "Must be a magic mirror." He mused. Then he chanted softly, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall . . ."

Sudden light flared and he shielded his eyes. When he could see again, the mirror had a face, it somewhat resembled Lily's and it was staring back at him.

"Oh, please, not that old chestnut again!" the mirror groaned. "You don't know how tired I am of hearing that!"

"You . . . you talk!"

"Well, of course! Though I'll admit, I haven't had a conversation with anyone in a long long time. I've been moldering away in this room for years, forgotten." The mirror sniffed.

"Oh. Err . . . do you have a name?"

"My creator called me the Mirror of Erised and I can show you your heart's desire."

"You can? Then what I saw . . .?"

"Was your own longing for the parents you have lost and the family you wish to have with your guardian," the mirror explained. Then she frowned. "However, there is yet another thing you desire very much. A mystery to be solved. Three questions you may ask. What knowledge do you seek? What information do you desire? Ask, and I shall answer."

Harry took a deep breath. Then he said, "I want to know about Nicholas Flamel. Who he was and what he did."

"Ask , then."

"I just did." Harry frowned. Then it hit him. He had to put it in the form of a question. "Who is Nicholas Flamel and what did he do?"

The mirror smiled. "Is this what you desire?"

"Yes."

"Nicholas Flamel is a famous wizard and alchemist. He discovered the Sorcerer's Stone and the secret of immortality."

Harry felt a thrill run through him. "What is the Sorcerer's Stone and what does it do?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone is an ancient magical object. It is a deep ruby red in color, made from coreolite crystal, and it was rumored to be created when the universe began, out of a piece of ethereal magic made solid. If a portion of the stone is crushed and drank in a glass of pure water, it can make the wizard or witch immortal. Age will not touch them and so long as they drink the potion every year, death's hand shall be stayed."

Harry gaped. No wonder it had been hidden away. People would kill for such a thing. He quickly asked his last question. "Where is the Stone now?"

"It is here, in the castle." The mirror replied.

"Where?"

"I cannot say." The mirror said. Then the glass went opaque.

Harry tapped on the glass and called for it to come back, that he desired more answers. But the mirror remained dark. "Damn it, I was so close!" he swore angrily.

He remained staring into the mirror for a few more moments, then he left the room and went to wake up Ron, for he had solved at least part of the mystery.

**Hope you all enjoyed this one! How did you like the breakfast with Irma and Lena? And the different Mirror of Erised? And the Harry and Sev plushie moment?**

**Please check out my profile, I have some lovely drawings of Severus and Skullduggery on there under the Common Interests listing as well as a new banner!**

**I am preparing for Hurricane Irene since it's supposed to hit the Jersey shore later on today. I'm praying we'll all come through okay, but will have to wait and see. I might not be able to get online for a few days, but please leave me a review and I shall read it when I am able! Thanks and to anyone else who is in the path of this hurricane, God bless and good luck!**


	18. Sick Day

**18**

**Sick Day**

Harry had to shake Ron several times to wake him, and finally the redhead opened his eyes and growled, "Whaddya want? I'm on holiday, can't I sleep in for once, Mum?"

"Ron, it's me, Harry," his friend snickered at Ron's disgruntled expression.

"Huh?" Ron yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, it's you. Why are you waking me up, Harry?" His voice still sounded sort of stuffed up.

"Sorry. Are you still sick?"

"Nah. Not really. That Pepperup potion the professor gave me works really good." He sat up, reaching for a glass of water that rested on his night table. He drank thirstily, then wiped his mouth on his pajama sleeve before saying, "What's so important you had to wake me up instead of waiting till tomorrow, mate?"

Harry looked about the room, even though he knew no one was there besides himself and Ron. He shut the door then returned to Ron's bed, leaning over and whispering, "You'll never believe what I found, Ron. I found a talking magic mirror in this dusty old room and I got to ask it three questions and it told me about the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Crikey!" Ron yelped, his eyes wide. "What did it say?"

Harry told him about Nicolas Flamel. "But when I tried to ask it some more questions, it wouldn't answer me."

"That's how some magic items work. They're designed to only answer certain questions, or a certain number of them and then you're on your own."

"Hey . . . maybe _you_ could ask it three questions!" exclaimed Harry. "Get up, and let's go find the room again."

Ron stuck his feet into his slippers and said, "Let me just use the loo. Be back in a few." He hurried out of the room.

Harry went down to the common room, Ron would figure out where he was. He couldn't wait to see what the mirror had to say when Ron asked it a few questions. Maybe they could solve the mystery before the holidays were over and shock Hermione. She had been sure that they wouldn't be able to figure it out on their own.

Ron met him in the common room, looking more awake, he must have given his face a wash, because it looked freshly scrubbed. "Ready. Where to?"

"This way." Harry led him out of the portrait hole.

Down the corridor they went, keeping their footsteps quick and mostly quiet. "It's right around here," Harry hissed, indicating the wall on the right.

But the wall where the door had been was blank.

Ron frowned. "Harry, are you sure it was here? Maybe you got mixed up?"

Harry shook his head firmly. "No. It was right here," he tapped the wall. "But now it's not. How can a room disappear like that?"

"In this castle, even the rooms appear and disappear," Ron told him. "Sometimes a room can vanish and not come back for years."

"But . . ." Harry looked dismayed. "Why?"

"I don't know. It's part of the magic of the castle, I guess."

Harry sighed, peeved. "That really sucks. I was really hoping you could ask the mirror some other questions and now . . ." He tried smacking and kicking the wall where the door had been, to no avail. "Ow!" he cried, bruising his toes.

Ron chuckled. "Take it easy, mate. If the room's gone, kicking the wall ain't going to bring it back."

"Could the Headmaster bring it back?"

"I don't think so. I think the castle picks and chooses sometimes and not even Dumbledore has much say about it. He told me once he found a room filled with chocolate frogs and when he went back later to find it, it had vanished and he never saw it again."

Harry scowled, it looked like it was hopeless. For whatever reason, the room was gone. "Blast! I was hoping we could solve the mystery of where the Stone was hidden before the end of the holidays."

"Cheer up, Harry," Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "When Hermione comes back, she can help."

"I suppose." The dark-haired wizard huffed. Then he got an idea. "Ron, why don't we go to the library and see what else we can find out about Flamel? I'm sure there's got to be a book about him, he's famous."

"But you already know he found the Stone."

"I know, but I'd still like to do a bit more research as well as confirm what the mirror told me. You should always confirm what someone tells you when you're investigating a case, because sometimes the information someone has could be wrong."

"You think the mirror was mistaken? Or maybe lying?"

"I don't know. I hope not, I don't see why it would be, but better safe than sorry."

"How do you know all this stuff about solving cases, Harry?"

"I read a lot of crime novels. You know, Sherlock Holmes? Agatha Christie? Sydney Sheldon?" His list was met with a blank look. "No? Maybe you wouldn't recognize them 'cause they're Muggle authors and characters?"

"I don't get to read many Muggle books," Ron said.

"Oh. Forgot about that. Anyhow, they're all detective stories and I like trying to solve the mystery before the end of the book, when they reveal who did it or whatever. And in every mystery novel I've ever read, you have to have proof before you can count something as evidence, and that especially includes things people say. So let's see if we can find something about Flamel in the library."

"What time is it?"

Harry pulled out his pocket watch. "It's a little after six. We have a few hours before curfew." He smiled at Lily's picture before shutting the cover and replacing the watch inside his pocket. Severus had cut a small hole in his pocket so he could slide the watch chain through and then clip the end to the chain. That way he couldn't lose it and no one could steal it without tearing Harry's robe, something he would be sure to notice.

"All right. I just hope it doesn't take that long to find the book."

"It won't. Lena's working at the desk tonight, she can help us." Harry said calmly.

"How do you know that?"

"She told me she works at night, because Madam Pince is getting too old to stay up all night and the library closes at eleven."

Ron gave him an odd look, he had never known anyone like Harry, who seemed to be as at home in the library as he was in his room, and knew things like a librarian's schedule. He was . . . almost . . . as bad as Hermione for studying.

Lena was quite happy to assist them, going to the section of wizard biographies and diaries of famous personages. "Here you go, Harry." She handed him a rather thick volume titled _Phoenix From the Ashes: the Astonishing Life and Achievements of Nicolas Flamel_.

"Thanks, Lena. When is this due back?"

"Oh, not for three weeks. Take your time, I know you'll have lots of homework to do once term resumes. If you need to renew it, just let me know. Flamel is a fascinating man, I hope you'll find the book fun to read."

"Is he a part of the Society?"

Lena nodded. "Yes. He is one of the founding members, loving knowledge for its own sake and one of the few who has not abandoned the old practices."

Harry tucked the book in his pocket and hurried out of the library.

Ron was grinning. "Now you can confirm what the mirror said, right?"

"Uh huh. I'm going to go back to my room in the dungeon and start reading."

"You think you can finish the book before term starts again? It looked like it was a long one." Ron said dubiously.

Harry shrugged. "I read fast. I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right. I'm going back to bed." Ron said, then he sneezed.

Harry hurried down to the dungeons. When he spoke the password to Severus' quarters, something which Snape had told him about just before Christmas, the door unlocked and he went inside. Neither Severus or Skull was there, and Harry slipped into his room and curled up on the bed. He pulled out the book and began to read.

Soon he was engrossed in the life of the famous alchemist and quite forgot about dinner until Severus returned and tapped on his bedroom door.

"Harry? Have you eaten tonight?"

"Huh?" Harry started. "Uh . . . no. I forgot. I've been reading." He quickly set his book down, his stomach was growling loudly.

"Come out here then, and have something. I doubt you'll be able to sleep else."

Harry slid reluctantly from his bed and opened the door to find Snape on the other side. "Where's Skull?" He asked, when he did not see the raven.

"Out and about. Hunting, most likely." Snape replied. "What would you like to eat? The house elves will make you whatever you wish."

Harry thought for a bit. "How about chicken and dumplings with a side of bread with butter?"

"Very good. No sweet?" teased the other.

"Can I have treacle pudding, Uncle Severus?"

"You may. And I shall have some chicken and wild rice soup and a half of a ham with lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich."

"What about your coffee? And some jam shortbreads?"

"Yes." He clapped his hands and summoned a house elf.

Once he had given their order to the kitchen elf, Severus settled down on the couch and beckoned Harry to sit beside him. "What have you been up to all day?"

"Nothing much. I walked about a little and then decided to go to the library with Ron and check out a book. Then I've been in here, reading."

"I see. Is the book an interesting one?"

"Yes. Very interesting." Harry said. "It's a book about alchemists," He said, not sure why he was reluctant to tell Severus that the book was about Flamel.

"Ah. Most of them led colorful lives." Severus nodded.

"How did your brewing go? Maybe I can help sometime?" he asked wistfully.

"I am nearly finished. Most of the drafts I'm brewing for the Hospital Wing are beyond your capability now, but I shall keep it in mind. Thank you for offering."

Soon their dinner arrived and there was no more conversation until both were finished.

Harry pushed his plate away and then tackled the pudding.

"Careful, boy. Eating too fast could make you sick."

"I'm all right," Harry said, spooning up the pudding.

He lay down his spoon, finished.

Severus began making some Black Diamond coffee for himself and Summoning the tin of jam shortbreads he kept on the bottom row of his bookshelf. They had been made by Lena's mother and Lena had shared them with him.

"Can I be excused?"

"Yes. Go back to your reading, but lights go out at ten o'clock."

" I know." Harry quickly returned to his reading, eager to find out how Flamel discovered the Stone and learned how to brew the Elixir of Life.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Over the last few days of the holiday, Harry read and learned all about Nicolas Flamel, but except for three chapters about his discovery of the Stone and experimenting with it to make the Elixir of Life and sharing the resulting potion with his beloved wife, there was very little about how the Stone worked. The alchemist did stress that using the Stone for selfish purposes would taint the way the Stone responded, and that was why the formula for the Elixir of Life was not printed up. He did find Flamel a fascinating man, and also learned that Dumbledore had been partners with him and was taught alchemy by Flamel.

When he took a break from reading, he played in the snow with Ron, or practiced chess with him. Sometimes he went for a walk about the grounds, accompanied by Skull, who amused him by imitating the calls of various birds, all of whom would appear looking for their mate or a similar species and find no one but the mimicking raven.

Hermione arrived back a day early and was impressed with how much the boys had figured out. But soon Flamel was nearly forgotten when term started again and all the teachers gave them tons of homework.

Neville was improving in potions, enough so he didn't explode cauldrons every class. Severus couldn't fail to notice his progress and praised the boy one morning, making Neville very happy.

"You are much improved, Longbottom. Would you still like to continue our sessions on Wednesdays?" inquired the professor.

"Oh, yes, sir. These potions we're doing now are harder than the first ones and sometimes I still get in a muddle."

"Very well. We shall continue where we left off. Wednesday evenings at seven o'clock."

Neville gave him a grateful look before hurrying out the door.

Harry had resumed sleeping in Gryffindor Tower during the week, but could be found in Snape's quarters during the weekend. The first week of term, he bumped into Malfoy on the way to Snape's quarters.

"In a hurry, Potter?" queried the Slytherin.

"Sorry, Malfoy. I am in a bit of a rush. Have a lot of Transfiguration to do before practice today." Harry said.

Draco looked a bit envious, then he said, "Thank you for the Christmas gift, Potter. I enjoyed it very much."

"You're welcome. Thanks for the Snitch." Harry said, feeling rather awkward.

"Maybe you can use it during practice." The Slytherin suggested. "You'll need it if you're going to try and win the Quidditch Cup this year."

Harry knew that Slytherin had won both the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup for the past seven years. "You never know, Malfoy. This year could be the year Gryffindor wins."

"Ha! In your dreams!" The other snorted. Then he turned and walked away, leaving Harry to head into the professor's quarters and make a start on his homework before going to practice that afternoon.

Not long after that, Hermione began studying frantically for her end of term exams, and encouraging the rest of their study group to do the same. Defense was as abysmally boring as ever, Quirrell was now focusing on trolls, but he managed to make even that subject dull. Ron suggested they continue meeting in Snape's quarters every other night and practicing what they had learned over the holiday. Neither Neville or Hermione had learned the Leg Locker Jinx or most of the others Severus had taught them.

Hermione was determined to ace her exams, and so refused to learn anything new. Draco knew that jinx already, but agreed to practice it anyway. The four boys paired up one evening while Severus was marking exams for his fifth years, Draco with Harry and Ron with Neville.

This time, Harry was able to block Malfoy's jinx and catch him with a Sneezing Jinx.

But Ron got a little overenthusiastic with Neville, forgetting the other boy had not had the benefit of Snape's Defense tutoring, and the Body Bind he cast caused Neville to topple over backwards and hit his head upon the table.

The boy lay still, his eyes wide open, and blood trickled from his head.

"Neville! Oh, you're bleeding!" Hermione cried in alarm. "Professor, Neville's hurt!"

Severus rose immediately and came over. "What happened?" He demanded, removing the bind over Neville.

"I . . . we were showing Draco and Neville the new spells you taught us, sir," Ron stammered guiltily. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

Severus gently felt along Neville's head, his fingers coming away stained with blood. "You have a lump the size of a walnut back here, Longbottom. Let's get you to the Hospital Wing. Skull, inform Madam Pomfrey that I have an injured student on his way to her."

"On it, Sev!" the raven called, then waited for the professor to open the door before flying out of it.

Severus conjured a stretcher and floated Neville on it. The boy whimpered. "It hurts, Professor Snape. A lot."

"Yes, I imagine it would." He fixed Ron with a scowl. "Mr. Weasley, come with me. How many times have I told you never to cast a jinx of that magnitude unless you are being supervised by me? Longbottom has enough trouble with his memory, he doesn't need amnesia as well."

Ron hung his head. "But sir, you were in the room."

"Don't split hairs with me, Weasley. You could have seriously injured Longbottom with your carelessness." Severus scolded sternly, levitating the stretcher and floating it before him.

"I'm really sorry, sir."

"Humph! You shall be even sorrier when you get through with my detention tonight. You will accompany me to the Hospital Wing and scrub twelve bedpans without magic. I am sure Madam Pomfrey will appreciate the assistance and perhaps doing so will teach you to remember my instructions."

Ron gaped at him. "But, sir . . . that's not fair! I didn't mean to hurt him!"

"Quit your whining, boy. The fact remains that he did get injured and you disobeyed me, therefore you will now face the consequences."

Unhappily, Ron followed the professor and Neville's stretcher out the door.

"Poor Ron!" Harry muttered.

"Poor _Ron_? How about poor Neville?" Hermione objected. "He could have brain damage."

"He didn't hit his head that hard, Granger," Draco pointed out.

"It could happen. I knew a boy once who tripped and hit his head on a wooden banister and he gave himself a bad concussion and almost died," the witch argued.

"Madam Pomfrey will heal him, Granger. Weasley was stupid to cast that here, where Longbottom was sure to hit something." Draco said dismissively.

"Hey, it was an accident," Harry defended his friend.

"Enough! I'm trying to study, if you two don't mind?" Hermione said irritably. She buried her nose in her Astronomy text.

After one last glare, Harry too returned to studying his Herbology, and Draco haughtily paged through his Transfiguration chapters.

Snape returned after half an hour, Skull riding his shoulder, and reassured them that Neville was doing fine and would be held for observation overnight before being released tomorrow.

"What about Ron?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Weasley is still serving his detention. He will be dismissed when he has completed it," Severus said crisply. "Carry on with your homework, Mr. Potter."

At a quarter to nine, Ron returned to Snape's quarters to retrieve his books and bag. He looked exhausted and chastened. "I'm finished, sir," he said, handing Snape a note from Madam Pomfrey indicating he had done a satisfactory job.

Severus took the note. "I trust you have learned your lesson?"

Ron nodded.

"Dismissed, Mr. Weasley. Go to bed," he waved off the redhead, who turned and hurried away after grabbing his things.

Hermione and Draco quickly followed suit, until only Harry was left.

"Harry, time for bed." Severus called softly.

Harry closed his books. "Okay, Uncle Severus." he paused before going into his room. "Are you sure Neville's going to be all right?"

"Yes. Madam Pomfrey would not say so unless she was certain of it."

"I'm glad. Ron didn't mean to hurt him."

"Harry, whether or not he intended to do so, the fact remains that he cast a spell which Longbottom couldn't block and caused him an injury. If he had hit his head a little lower, Longbottom might well be in a coma or dead. Ronald needs to understand that he should have thought before he tried to duel Longbottom, and with a new student, care must be taken to ensure the student's safety always. I did not enjoy issuing such a punishment, however it was necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now this subject is closed and I'll hear no more about it. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Uncle Severus." Harry said, then came and gave his guardian a hug before heading into his room.

He spent part of the night reading the rest of the Flamel book, until Skullduggery ghosted into the room and perched upon the headboard.

"Sleep, _bran-boy_. Else you'll be too tired to get up tomorrow and practice."

Harry smiled up at the raven. "Just one more minute, then I'll stop."

The raven ruffled his feathers. "There is such a thing as too much studying."

"This isn't for school, Skull. It's to relax me."

Harry continued reading until his eyes drooped.

Skull clucked at him. "Harry, put the book down and go to sleep."

Harry removed his glasses and dimmed the lamp in his room, leaving just enough light to see where he placed his glasses. But though he was tired, he couldn't fall asleep. "Skull, do you ever miss your family?"

"Occasionally. But I go and visit for awhile every year so it's not so bad," answered the raven. "My place is with Sev now, and I have no regrets." The raven answered. "Would you like to hear how we first met?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"I shall tell you another night."

"Why not now?" Harry asked, somewhat petulantly.

"Because you are far too tired to listen properly," the raven soothed. He began to make soft humming noises into Harry's ear.

In spite of himself, Harry began to drift and then all at once he was asleep.

The raven nuzzled him affectionately and whispered, "Sweet dreams, child." He remained until he was certain Harry was sleeping soundly, then he glided from the room to sleep by Severus.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

As winter gave way to spring, the weather turned rainy, resulting in many students coming down with colds and viruses. The damp weather also triggered students' allergies and Severus' sinus headaches came back with a vengeance. As a result, he was prickly and tended to snap more at students and colleagues. The only exceptions were Neville and Skullduggery.

On his best day, Severus had no fondness for Quidditch, and when he was under the weather his tolerance level dropped below zero. Harry had Quidditch practice three times a week now, Wood was working them like dogs, and he often came back from practice exhausted and soaking wet. But everyone was speculating about the upcoming match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. If Gryffindor won, it would mean they would be in the lead for the Quidditch Cup, something that had not happened in seven years. And so, everyone was talking about it and raving over the possibility of Gryffindor winning.

That alone was enough to put Snape in a bad mood, since he was very competitive and didn't want his House to be shown up. Add to that his painful sinus headaches and he was as grumpy as a nesting Hungarian Horntail. He forbid any talk about Quidditch in his class and took points if he caught anyone doing so, even from Slytherin.

Harry had grown rather slipshod about his homework since starting practice, and Severus noticed and demanded an explanation. When Harry mentioned Quidditch practice, the professor snapped, "There is more to life than Quidditch, young man! You should be putting your energy into your studies, not flying about trying to catch a winged globe! Maybe you need to go to bed earlier!"

Harry was shocked at his guardian's outburst, not understanding most of it was due to being in pain almost daily, and he retreated to his bedroom, hurt and irritated. He wished Severus would try and understand his love of Quidditch was like Snape's love of Defense and potions. He was sulking about Snape's intransigence when Skullduggery flew into his room and perched on his knee.

"Don't mind Sev, Harry. It's not really you he's angry at. He's having one of his episodes and he has no patience for anyone when he's in pain."

"In pain? What's wrong with him?"

"The weather mostly. It triggers his sinus headaches, and he refuses to rest enough when he's teaching, so it aggravates them and he becomes unbearable."

"Oh. That's terrible. Isn't there something he could take, like a potion?"

"Yes, but the Headache Remedies make his head foggy and he hates that even worse and so doesn't take them unless he's about to pass out." The raven informed him. "I try and help him as best I can, but it's difficult. He doesn't mean to snap at you, _bran-_boy."

Harry scratched Skull behind the head and the raven purred at him. Now he felt sorry for Severus, he had had one or two really bad headaches as a child, and couldn't imagine dealing with that kind of pain on a daily basis. So he held his tongue about Quidditch and also about the reoccurring nightmares he'd been having of Voldemort killing his parents.

Until one weekend, when he was sleeping over, and woke Severus with his whimpering and yelling.

Severus came rushing into the room, to find Harry all tangled in the bedcovers, trembling and in a cold sweat. "Harry? What's wrong? Were you having a nightmare?"

Harry woke up fully then. "Umm . . . yeah, I was. It's no big deal. Been having the same one for awhile, Uncle Severus."

Severus brushed his hand across Harry's forehead. "You're sweating. Come, get up and get changed into another pair of pajamas. It's not good to be wet down here, it's too damp. I'll need to change your sheets too."

"Oh, but that's not really necessary, sir . . ." Harry began.

"It most certainly is," his guardian said firmly. He waved his wand, stripping off the old sheets and replacing them with fresh ones.

Harry changed quickly into fresh pajamas, feeling guilty for causing Severus to wake up in the middle of the night.

"How long have you been having these nightmares? And why didn't you tell me?"

"About a week or two. I thought . . . they'd go away and I didn't want to make you worry when you were getting such bad headaches."

Severus frowned. "How did you know about my headaches?"

"Skullduggery told me. He thought I should know."

Severus shook his head and muttered something about gossipy ravens needing their tongues hexed quiet. He then Summoned a clear potion and gave Harry a spoonful. "That is Dreamless Sleep and will allow you a full night's rest. Next time you are having nightmares, come to me and tell me. Forgive me for biting your head off, I am not at my best with these bloody headaches." He rubbed his temples. "Even so, that does not mean I will neglect you, Harry. What were the nightmares about? Can you remember?"

"Yes. I dreamed about my parents dying again. About the night _he_ came."

Severus gently urged him to sit on the bed, then sat next to him, an arm about the slender shoulders. "You should have come to me before. There was no need to suffer through that over and over." He silently cursed his temper.

"I didn't want to be a bother."

"Harry, as your guardian, it's my duty to make sure you are well, physically and mentally. Telling me when you are sick or hurt is not being a bother. I cannot help you unless I know something is wrong. There is no need to be afraid of me, child, I will never scold you for coming to me and asking for a potion."

"Oh. All right."

"Good. Now lie down and close your eyes. The Dreamless Sleep should take effect in a minute."

Harry did as he was told, Snape tucked the covers around him, and Harry fell asleep almost immediately.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Even though Harry was getting a proper amount of sleep, he was still stressing over his studies, he wished to improve his marks so Snape would be proud of him and he also wanted to help Gryffindor win the Cup this year. As the day of the match drew nearer, he was practicing even harder with the team and trying to complete all his homework. Even with the Dreamless Sleep, he still woke up feeling tired. But he said nothing to anyone, figuring the pressure would lessen once the match was over.

The morning of the game he woke up feeling achy and tired and his stomach was queasy. He put it down to nerves and went up to eat breakfast with the other Gryffindors. But he found he could barely choke down some toast and a few pieces of bacon and a half a glass of milk.

"You all set, Harry?" Wood asked from down the table.

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak, for his stomach suddenly felt as if it were going to turn itself inside out.

"Remember, all you have to do is catch the Snitch in the first quarter, Potter, and we've won the game." Wood said encouragingly.

"You can do it, Harry," Fred said, giving him a smile.

Harry wished he felt more uplifted by his teammates, but all he could concentrate on was the churning in his stomach. It was growing worse. Suddenly he stood up and ran from the hall.

"Harry? Where are you going?" Wood called.

"He looked kind of sick," Hermione said.

Breakfast was nearly over, and as Harry rushed out of the hall, Severus noticed and followed.

He was just in time to see his ward duck into the boys' bathroom. "Harry?" he called, following the boy inside.

The unmistakable sound of retching came from one of the stalls.

Severus sighed and reached into his pocket for a vial of Stomach Soother. It must be nerves.

When Harry emerged from the stall, pale as a sheet, his eyes glassy and clutching his stomach, Severus murmured, "Here, drink this. Then you're coming with me to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Huh?" Harry took the potion and drank it slowly. "I don't need to, it's just nerves and the bacon was too greasy. I'm fine."

An instant later his stomach cramped and gurgled warningly. He doubled over, then turned and rushed back into the stall to relieve himself.

When he reappeared five minutes later, still suffering cramps, Severus took him firmly by the shoulder. "You are going to the Hospital Wing, no arguing."

"No! Why can't you just give me a potion for it?" Harry protested.

"Because that will only treat the symptoms, not the cause of them. You seem to have developed a stomach virus. Now stop fighting me, before I pick you up and carry you there."

He walked rapidly up the stairs and down the corridor until finally they reached the infirmary.

Poppy was at her desk, writing up a few charts when she saw Severus enter. "Severus? What seems to be the problem?"

"I need you take a look at Harry. He's feeling ill this morning."

"Goodness! What seems to be the problem?" she asked Harry, drawing her wand.

"It's my stomach," Harry groaned.

"Oh, dear. Have you vomited today?"

Harry nodded. "Once. Then Uncle Severus gave me a Stomach Soother."

"I see. Have you had any loose stools?"

Harry blushed and looked down at his sneakers.

"He has," Snape interjected. "Poppy, I believe he has a stomach virus."

The medi-witch waved her wand and Harry found himself in a pair of comfortable cotton pajamas. She then muttered a diagnostic spell. A moment later she straightened. "You are correct, Severus. His stomach is very unsettled and he has some bloating and gas. He also has an infection in his lower bowel, I can give him a potion for that . . . and another to relieve the cramping . . . until then he ought to rest and eat certain foods to bind him . . . bananas, oatmeal, a little broth, some brown rice with salt, applesauce . . ."

Harry listened with half an ear, wishing she would just give him a potion and be done with it. The match was in two hours. Suddenly a terrible thought occurred to him. "Madam Pomfrey, I can still play Quidditch, right? The game's this afternoon."

Poppy shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter. You're quite ill and need to remain in bed."

Harry blanched. "No! I can't do that. I have to play."

"Harry, it's no use arguing. Now do as she told you."

"But . . . you don't understand! I _have_ to play. Gryffindor will forfeit the match else and Hufflepuff will win by default." Harry protested.

"That can't be helped, dear." Poppy said sympathetically. "You're in no condition to play."

"There will be other games," Severus said softly. "Come now, get in bed."

He managed to get Harry to a bed. The boy was wearing a mulish expression. Poppy gave him two potions and then told him to rest.

"Uncle Severus . . ."

Severus shook his head. "Lie down and sleep, Harry. I'll be back in a few minutes, I need to speak with Minerva." He gently pushed the boy down on the bed and then left.

Harry lay there, still feeling sick, and wondering how he could have come down with this bloody virus the day he had to play in the big match. It wasn't fair! After all of the time he spent training, all the hours of flying in the rain and the mud, now it was all for nothing. Now Gryffindor would lose, and it was all his fault. Tears prickled his eyes.

Then he gritted his teeth and sat up. He wouldn't let this stop him. He would fly and catch the Snitch. He stood up shakily and began to walk towards the door.

Poppy had returned to her office, believing him to be asleep. He made his way slowly but steadily towards the door.

He had almost reached it when Severus appeared in the doorway, Skull upon his shoulder.

"Harry, what are you doing out of bed? Get back there immediately." Severus ordered.

Harry looked up at him. "No. I can't let them down."

Severus glared at him. "You stubborn child! How can you expect to sit a broom in your condition? You can barely stand, much less fly. And you could also infect your teammates if you went back there now."

"I'll manage," Harry said, one arm wrapped about his middle. "Please, Uncle Severus."

"No."

He picked the boy up and carried him back to bed.

Harry would have protested, but just then his stomach rebelled.

Severus set him down and grabbed a bedpan just in time. He held Harry's head until it was over, then wiped his face with a damp cloth. "There now. Here, have some water."

Harry drank slowly, ridding himself of the awful taste. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You're hardly to blame."

"I'm sorry because I ruined my team's chance at the cup." Harry clarified, dashing a hand across his face.

"That wasn't something you could prevent," Severus said. He gently stroked the boy's hair. "Besides, I spoke to the Headmaster and he agreed to postpone the match until next Saturday, so you can still play in it and give Gryffindor its chance."

"He did?" Harry brightened. "That's great!"

"Now, for the love of Merlin, will you quite fretting over it and rest?"

This time Harry didn't argue, he simply lay back down. His last glimpse before falling asleep was of Severus sitting in a chair next to the bed.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

When Harry woke again, he felt much better. Severus had gone back to his lab to brew some potions, leaving him to be looked after by Poppy and Skullduggery. Poppy bustled about, giving him more potions and asking him how he felt.

"A little better."

"Good. You slept for about four hours and now it's lunchtime. Do you feel up to having some tea and some toast, maybe a cup of broth and some applesauce also?"

Harry nodded.

Some two minutes later a tray was floated over to him. "Eat as much as you can, don't worry if you can't finish." She told him.

Harry cautiously ate a piece of toast with a bit of butter and sipped the chamomile tea. There was also a cup of chicken broth and a small dish of applesauce. A large glass of ice water was also upon the tray, with a flexible straw in it.

He made sure he ate some applesauce, and finished one piece of toast and drank some broth before sensing that was about all he could tolerate. "Here, Skull." He held out the other piece of toast, feeding it to the raven in pieces.

"Thank you, Harry." Skull took the bits from Harry's fingers delicately.

Once he was done with lunch, he had nothing to keep himself occupied. He didn't feel sleepy, and so he asked Skull to tell him about the first time Skullduggery had met Severus.

Skull fluffed his feathers and settled down on the bed. "Ah, yes, I did promise you that tale, didn't I? Listen closely. Once upon a time, eight years ago, I lived with my raven family in the Tower of London . . ." **

Harry listened, astounded at the fact that Severus had, in the beginning, refused the raven's company, believing himself not worthy of a raven familiar. He grinned at Skullduggery's attempts to change the snarky professor's mind, and at how clever the bird was about ferreting information out of the other familiars in order to learn about the wizard.

He learned that Severus, even then, had no tolerance for those who bullied others, and had once rescued a Hufflepuff he found crying in the corridor after a detention with Argus Filch.

"I felt sorry for Robyn too, she was a gentle soul, and undeserving of Filch's cruelty." Skullduggery said. "I don't know how Mrs. Norris put up with that. Still, she is his familiar, and often we will tolerate much from our wizards. I do know that Sev put the fear of God into the miserable bugger once he got Robyn sorted out, and he never had detention alone with a child again, at least not when Severus issued them. Even Peeves was disgusted with him for scaring the girl so badly."

"Do you know why he's like that?"

"Hmm. I'd venture to say that Filch is bitter and angry at being a Squib, and takes out his frustration on the only targets available—you students. Some of his attitude is justified, since many students enjoy playing pranks on him, but it doesn't excuse tormenting an innocent child even if she did earn herself detention. You'd be wise to steer clear of him, Harry. He has never physically harmed a student, but his tongue is razor sharp."

"I know. He gives me the creeps. Mrs. Norris too."

"Oh, the cat isn't bad. She's hunted with me a time or two and is actually very clever. But she's loyal to her master, and that means she accompanies him on patrols looking for students wandering around at night. Still, I can't fault her for that. Any familiar worth its fur or feathers is loyal to her wizard, or else she isn't worthy of the name. She told me once that she has spoken to Filch a few times about his dreadful attitude, but he refuses to listen to her advice. And there's not much she can do about that."

"But Uncle Sev listens to you sometimes when you tell him things."

"Our relationship is different than most wizard/familiar pairings. Severus respects me as a close friend, as I do him. Ravens are not servants to their wizards, like dogs or other animals. We speak our own minds as we see fit, and keep our own counsel as well. Cats are much the same, probably why Mrs. Norris prefers my company."

By then Harry was feeling sleepy and starting to nod off. Skull began to sing a lullaby.

Harry drifted off to the raven warbling "Rock-a-bye baby."

At dinner, which was brown rice with salt, some more applesauce, toast, and chicken broth, Harry ate with Severus, who had grilled chicken, a baked potato and some mixed vegetables. Severus gave him some reading material and a newspaper, and played Exploding Snap until Harry grew tired.

Afterwards, on the way back to his quarters, he was ambushed by Ron, Hermione, Neville and even Malfoy, wanting to know why Harry was in the Hospital Wing. "He has a contagious stomach virus. He should be better in a few days, then you may visit him."

All four grimaced, and Hermione cried, "Poor Harry! He seems to have the worst luck."

"It does seem that way at times," Severus replied.

"May we study in your quarters, sir?" asked Neville, a bit diffidently.

"You may, as long as you behave," Snape reminded them.

They all agreed, and trooped into the professor's rooms, but without Harry their study session was lacking and they felt his absence keenly.

**** for the full story about how Severus and Skullduggery met, please read Raven's Choice, a short prequel to this story, if you haven't already.**


	19. Another Letter

**19**

**Another Letter**

Harry woke the next morning feeling much better. Madam Pomfrey ran her wand over him and pronounced him over the stomach flu. She gave him breakfast—it was brown sugar oatmeal with bananas and some toast, plus some tea. Skull arrived and perched on the end of the bed frame, warbling, "Oh, It's a Beautiful Morning", before chirring, "How do you feel, Harry? All better now?"

"Hello, Skull. I feel fine." Harry said. "How are you and Severus?"

"Sev's healthy as a horse, and I'm in fine fettle myself, _bran-_ boy."

"I'll go see him as soon as I'm allowed out of here." Harry promised. He spooned up the last of his oatmeal and drank down his tea.

"Poppy, he's done with his breakfast!" Skull called the medi-witch over.

Poppy bustled over. "How's that sitting with you, Mr. Potter? Do you feel nauseous?"

"No, ma'am," Harry answered.

"The Gryffindor Flash is back!" Skull sang. "Time to let him outta prison, nurse!"

Harry giggled at Skull's impudence.

"Really, Skull!" Poppy shook a reproving finger at the raven. "I'm not that bad."

The raven cocked his head and cawed, "You're a regular Florence Nightingale, my dear! A boon to the sisterhood of nurses, the bearer of the lantern of hope."

"Flatterer!" Poppy pretended to frown at him, but she sounded pleased. "Go on with you both! Before Severus frets himself to death."

She Transfigured his hospital pajamas to his uniform before dismissing him.

Harry made haste to get to his guardian's quarters, Skull leading the way like an omen.

"You look much improved, Harry," Severus stated when Harry had come into his suite. "But I would suggest you take it easy with lunch and dinner today. Try and avoid any spicy, rich, or heavily fried food. They might not sit well with you." He said.

"All right," Harry agreed, for he had no wish to throw up again.

Severus straightened Harry's tie and robes, and then brushed the boy's messy hair.

"Uncle Severus, I can brush my own hair!" Harry protested, wriggling.

"Then why do you not do so?" asked his guardian sternly, combing firmly.

"I didn't have time to worry 'bout my hair, I just got out of the Hospital Wing and I came right here," his ward objected, trying to duck.

"Stop moving, for Merlin's sake!" Severus ordered. "You need a trim, but I haven't time to do it now."

"I don't want my hair cut," objected Harry. "I like it the way it is."

"It looks like the underside of a mop. It's getting trimmed tonight."

"I'm growing it out long."

Severus snorted. "Since when? Just now?" He flattened Harry's stubborn cowlick with some Sleek-EZ Hair Gel. "There! At least now you don't look like a sheepdog's relative."

Harry pulled away and stomped into the bathroom. He groaned loudly when he looked in the mirror. "Ahh! Uncle Severus, I look like a dork! I can't go to class like this!"

"You can and you shall, now go and fetch your bookbag and go to the hall. Your friends have been asking for you."

"I feel like I'm going to puke."

"Try again, Mr. Potter." Severus crossed his arms.

"Your hair looks neat, Harry," Skull put in. "Like a barn swallow's nest."

"Thanks, Skull. I really needed to hear that," Harry grumbled.

"Skull, keep quiet," Severus ordered sharply.

Harry sulked, but Severus won, and he went to class. He wondered grumpily if Ron ever had to deal with these problems. Guardians!

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

At lunch Harry ate a simple cheese sandwich and crisps, and drank ice water. He quietly informed Ron that he would be playing in the upcoming Quidditch game that weekend.

"Good for you, mate! Hope you find the Snitch quick and we win."

Hermione, tired of hearing about Quidditch, brought up Flamel's biography. "Was it very interesting? I studied Sir Isaac Newton in primary school, he was a fascinating scientist."

Harry agreed, having also studied Newton and his Theory of Gravity.

Ron rolled his eyes as the two discussed the scientist, having no clue what they were babbling about. He turned to Neville and asked if he liked the Chudley Cannons, and soon was engaged in a discussion of who was the better professional Seeker and Chaser.

"So the mirror definitely said the Stone was here at the school?" Hermione hissed in his ear.

"Uh huh. But it disappeared before I could try and ask it any more questions," Harry told her.

"Where do you think it's hidden?"

"No idea," Harry shrugged. "But somebody's trying to steal it."

"Well, they can't get into the school, right?" Hermione mused.

"Unless they're already here," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there could be someone hiding here, waiting for their chance to steal it."

"An inside job?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione's eyes were wide. "But who? They'd have to be working for You-Know-Who."

"My thoughts exactly." Harry murmured.

"Harry, we have to tell someone! Like McGonagall or Professor Snape."

"Hermione, we don't even know if I'm right. Besides, I'm thinking that's why it was brought here, to protect it."

"Why not just leave it at Gringotts?"

"Because maybe Gringotts isn't safe."

"But Gringotts has never been broken into. It's impenetrable."

"Nothing's impenetrable. It's like saying the Titanic was unsinkable," Harry reminded her. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

"What are we going to do?"

"Try and figure out who the thief is."

"How do we do that?"

"Watch everyone and see if you can spot anything suspicious." Harry told her.

"All right." Hermione agreed. "I'm sure we could figure it out if we work at it. We'll need to keep a list of suspects."

"What are you going on about?" Ron asked, having caught Hermione's last sentence.

"Harry and I are on a mission to catch a thief," Hermione explained. She told Ron what they were planning. "Want to help?"

Ron looked dubious. "I guess. But I don't even know what to look for."

"Just keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground," advised the young witch.

"Whatever," sighed Ron. He was just happy that the Quidditch Cup was still within reach.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

"Mr. Potter, if you don't quit twitching, I'm Sticking you to the chair," an exasperated Potions Master told his ward that night, as he attempted to trim Harry's hair.

"But the back of my neck itches," Harry mumbled. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"It's a simple procedure," Severus snapped. "If you would be still, I wouldn't be in danger of making you bald." He snipped some more off the top of Harry's head.

Harry gulped and froze. "I'm not moving. I'm not moving," he muttered to himself over and over as Severus cut. _Please God, I hope Severus knows what he's doing._

Bits of hair drifted down over his face as Severus moved and trimmed his bangs. Harry felt his nose twitch, then he sneezed.

"Harry James Potter!" cried the professor. "You almost made me shear off a huge clump of hair."

"Sorry. I couldn't help it. The hair tickles. Maybe I should have worn a mask."

"Never you mind. Hold still, I'm nearly finished."

Harry gritted his teeth. Finally the snipping stopped.

He felt Severus run a comb through his newly shorn locks, mutter a Drying Charm, and then brush off the hair that clung to his neck and face with a small soft bristle brush.

"Open your eyes, Harry."

Harry opened his eyes. "It's over?"

"Yes. Go and take a look in the mirror."

Harry cautiously went to see. To his shock, his hair wasn't a wreck, as he had feared it would be. Nor did he look like some hayseed farmboy. His hair fell in loose waves about his face, trimmed neatly above the ears, and the cowlick was gone. The back of his head was now even and no longer shaggy.

"Well?"

"It's . . . it looks really . . . nice, Uncle Severus." He ran his hand through the silky dark cap. Now he felt silly, making such a fuss over a haircut. "Thanks. Sorry I was such a pain in the rear."

"Next time perhaps you will trust me, hmm? I won't have anyone saying that I neglect you."

"Oh, I will." Harry reassured him. He gave his guardian an apologetic smile. "You cut hair much better than Aunt Petunia."

"I shall take that as a compliment," said Snape dryly. "Now, I believe you have homework?"

Harry sighed. "When don't I?" He pulled out his books and began to read. The weekend couldn't come soon enough.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Finally, the day of the match dawned. Harry discovered that his goggles fit much better over his trimmed hair than they had previously. Hermione had even commented that she liked his hair, that it made him look sharp. "I think that style suits you well, Harry. It makes you look older, more sophisticated. Right, Ron?"

Ron looked up. "Huh?"

"Harry's hair. Don't you think it makes him look older?"

Ron squinted. "I dunno. He still looks eleven to me."

"Boys! You're all hopeless!" Hermione groaned.

Recalling that conversation made Harry grin. He had woken up early because Wood wanted them to drill before the game. So he spent two hours on the pitch Saturday morning before going to shower and eat breakfast. He ate sparingly, and drank his nutrient supplement. Severus was not refereeing this game, but he had assured Harry that he would be keeping a close eye on the game. That made Harry feel a little less apprehensive. He still didn't know who was behind those attacks, but Severus was doing his best to protect him. Harry fingered his protective amulet, which he wore beneath his shirt. He had given his pocket watch to Severus to hold till the game was over.

The stands were packed when Harry flew out on his Nimbus with the rest of the team. As they made a lap around the stands so everyone could see them, he saw Ron, Hermione, and Neville waving a large banner that read **Go, Harry, Go! Catch That Snitch!** As he passed the Slytherin side, several of that House made derogatory comments, but he saw Severus give him an encouraging look and applaud lightly as he passed. Harry felt as if he had already won the Cup. Severus was supporting him, despite the fact that the Potions Master found Quidditch a waste of time. Even Malfoy gave him a nod. Harry grinned and waited for the whistle to sound as he hovered in place.

The Quaffle was released by Madam Hooch, and the game was on!

Harry soared up and above the other players, who were scrambling for the Quaffle or trying to knock the Bludgers back towards the other team. Once he was above the fray, he concentrated upon finding the Snitch. His eyes darted here, there, and everywhere, searching. He blessed Severus for paying for new glasses, so his eyes were doubly sharp.

As Harry sought the elusive golden globe, Severus made certain to watch his ward closely. He had examined Harry's Nimbus just before the match and it was clean of any jinxes. He looked about the pitch scanning the area for any unusual magical presences or creatures. Nothing. Still, he remained on alert until the game ended, when Harry dove like a bat out of hell and caught the Snitch a mere three feet from the ground.

Severus forced himself to applaud and give his ward a smile of approval, though he longed to yank the boy from his broom and shake him hard for being such a daredevil. "This is why I hate Quidditch," groused the Potions Master to Skullduggery.

"Calm down, Sev," the raven trilled soothingly. "The _bran-boy's_ fine. He flies well."

"Who asked for your two Knuts?"

Skull ignored Severus' comment and glanced about, spotting Quirrell leaving the stands with a very sour look on his face. "Psst! Sev, look there! Professor Troll Breath seems to be awfully mad, for someone who claims to take no sides in Quidditch."

Severus turned his head and saw what the raven meant. He rose and followed silently after the other professor, his instincts rousing. There was something not right about Quirinius, and Severus suspected him greatly of being a pawn of the Dark Lord.

He caught up to Quirrell just as the other was heading towards the Forbidden Forest. "Something wrong, Quirinius?" he queried silkily, his tone edge in steel. "Squeamish?"

Quirrell turned, shaking visibly. "S-Severus, I'm n-n-not sure w-w-what you m-m-mean."

"Where are you going in such a hurry? Was the game not to your liking? Or do you have an important meeting with the centaurs?"

"N-No. I-I d-d-don't . . .I-I'm just . . ."

"Just what? Going to meet your contact, to slip him some more information?" Severus demanded, grabbing Quirrell by the front of his robes and glaring at him. "Is that what you really are, Quirinius? A spy? Because you are the poorest excuse for a Defense professor I have ever seen."

Quirrell laughed nervously. "S-Severus, I d-d-don't know what you're t-t-talking about!" His eyes darted back and forth. "P-Put me d-d-down."

"Quirinius, don't lie. You're terrible at it. Why are you so interested in the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"B-Because we have t-to keep it safe!"

"A likely excuse. You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Severus leaned in until he was almost nose to nose with the purple turbaned wizard.

"Of course not, Severus!"

"If I find out you've been double-crossing us, Quirinius . . ." Severus trailed off, preferring to let the cowardly slob draw his own conclusions.

"D-Don't be silly!" Quirrell gave a weak chuckle.

"We'll talk again soon, and you had better convince me where your true loyalties lie. Or else." He released the other with a sharp jerk, then whirled on his heel and strode back to the castle. Quirrell was definitely hiding something. He had barely been able to look Snape in the eye, and that was a sure sign of deception, or Severus wasn't a secret agent.

On the way there, he encountered Harry, and clapped him on the shoulder and said he had played a good game, then he gave Harry his pocket watch back. Then he left his ward to the celebration that followed, as Gryffindor was in the lead and only had to play Slytherin one more time to claim the coveted Quidditch Cup.

Skullduggery fluttered beside him. "Well? What did Mr. Tongue-tied have to say?"

"He protested his innocence, but I didn't believe a word." Severus said out of the corner of his mouth.

"He's guilty as sin, Sev. I'd watch him closely."

"I intend to. Go and keep an eye on Harry, Skull."

"My pleasure." The raven winged away, singing, "We Are the Champions" while flying circles backwards above Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team's heads.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Not long after the Quidditch game, Harry received a letter during the morning mail drop. He knew Hedwig had brought it to Severus first for inspection, as the professor was still insisting on examining Harry's post for any maleficent jinxes. He fed his owl a piece of ham from his plate and stroked her before tearing open the letter.

_Harry,_

_I am very disappointed with you. Not only did you fail to follow my advice, you have allowed the greasy cauldron bat to dictate rules and regulations to you, as if you were a slave. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a Potter taking orders from a slimy half-blood! Severus Snape is an evil despot, he is unfit to hold the position of professor; and especially unfit to be your guardian._

_Why will you not see this? Your mother knew the truth, she used to call him friend until he betrayed her, then she saw the wisdom in my words, and abandoned him to his dark purpose. Your father detested him, he knew what sort of sly treacherous bastard Snape was from the beginning. He would be horrified to see you cozying up to such a viper. Snape is a servant of darkness, don't let him fool you. _

_This is your second warning—tell the git to go to hell and leave him. _

_Or else you'll regret it._

_The Fifth Marauder_

Harry felt a cold chill run down his spine.

"Who's it from, Harry?" asked Hermione curiously.

"You look pale, Harry. Anything wrong?" Neville inquired.

"Is it bad news?" Ron wanted to know.

Harry sighed and shoved the letter at him, "Read it for yourself."

Ron did, with Hermione leaning over his shoulder.

"Harry, you'd better show this to Professor Snape," cried Hermione.

"She's right, mate," Ron said, ignoring the rest of the table gaping at him for agreeing with Hermione. "Whoever this bloke is, he's cracked as my grandmother's china teapot."

"I know. I'll show it to him soon as I can."

Harry tucked the letter into his pocket and tried not to feel as if there were a big bullseye painted on his back.

But he couldn't get a moment alone with the potions professor until almost lunch time. Snape was in his office, grading homework when Harry rushed in and showed him the letter.

Severus read it and glared at the parchment with a look that should have made it spontaneously combust. "Harry, I want you to promise me you will go nowhere by yourself and stay within the castle at night, unless accompanied by an adult. Whoever this Fifth Marauder is, he seems to be a vengeful sort. He could be anywhere, but I doubt he will strike if there are witnesses."

"Could he hurt you?"

"It's possible, but I'm more concerned about you. Promise me."

"I promise," Harry agreed. "Do you know who he might be?"

"No. But I intend to find out. If any more of these letters come, or something else happens, come to me immediately."

"I will, Uncle Sev."

Severus ruffled Harry's hair. "Get to lunch. You're starving, I can hear your stomach grumbling. Skull will accompany you," Severus nudged the sleeping raven awake, he was snoozing on the back of his chair.

With the raven perched on his shoulder, Harry went to lunch, wishing whoever this Fifth Marauder was would just go drown himself in the lake. This was all he needed.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

For the next few weeks, Harry's friends, including, oddly enough, Malfoy, made certain he was escorted everywhere. Ron even accompanied him into the bathroom, which caused a fierce quarrel between them, with Harry insisting that was over the top.

"But Harry, a lot of crimes and pranks are committed in the loo!" Ron protested. "Fred and George used to make the toilets explode on me and stuff. And my Uncle Mark got turned into a turtle by a crazy customer when he went to use the loo in his restaurant. He was almost made into turtle soup!"

"Ron, you're being ridiculous!" Harry yelled, turning bright red and stalking out of the bathroom. He bumped into Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going, Potter," growled the other. "I thought Snape got you new glasses."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry growled, walking quickly down the hall to the dungeons.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron called.

Harry kept walking. "Leave me alone, Ron! I'm going to Snape's quarters."

"But—"

"Weasley, let me handle him," Draco ordered arrogantly, and followed Harry. "Where are you going?" he asked as he caught up to Harry.

"Somewhere I can pee in peace." Harry muttered, face flaming. "The professor has a bathroom in his suite and it's warded, so . . ."

Draco smirked. "I hope you have good bladder control, Potter. Or an extra set of trousers, because this isn't around the corner, you know."

Harry scowled. "At least I won't feel like a bloody toddler."

He reached Snape's quarters and murmured the password, then turned the knob and stalked inside, slamming the door behind him.

Severus was reading a potions journal. "Is there a problem, Harry?"

"No. Everything's just fine, can't you tell?" his ward snapped. "I just want some privacy." He crossed the den and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. As he did so, he heard a knock on the door of Snape's quarters, and then Draco's voice.

Harry stayed in the bathroom for awhile, then finally emerged. Draco was waiting on the couch.

"I'm going to study," Harry announced, and sat at the table and began to work on his Astronomy.

He was soon joined by Draco, and then Neville, Ron, and Hermione. He pretended not to notice Ron, focusing on learning about Jupiter and all its moons, until the redhead murmured, "Harry, I was only trying to help."

"Drop it, Ron, okay? You're not my bloody bodyguard."

Ron winced. "Harry, you never know what could happen . . ."

Harry jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing. "I _said_, shut up about it!"

Severus set down his journal and rose to his feet. "Mr. Potter, if you cannot control your temper and speak in a normal tone of voice, you can leave and return to Gryffindor Tower. Or go to your room."

Harry turned. "Ron started it! Why don't you send _him_ away, sir?"

"Mr. Weasley is not the one screaming at the top of his lungs. Now moderate that tone, am I understood?"

"All I want is to be left alone!" Harry shouted, too fed up to guard his tongue, or recognize his guardian's warning tone.

Severus stiffened. Then he lifted his hand and pointed. "Go to your room, young man. Immediately!" His tone could have stripped a dragon's hide off of it. "I shall be in to discuss your behavior soon."

_That_ penetrated Harry's bad mood. Biting his lip, Harry obeyed, slamming the door after him.

All three of the other children gasped. Snape looked ready to explode. He turned away briefly and counted to ten under his breath. Then he said, in a deceptively calm tone, "You may continue to study until eight o'clock."

"Thank you, sir," Hermione whispered, and dropped her eyes to her text.

Ron did the same, and thought about how Harry was so going to regret his temper tantrum. He wondered if Snape was going to take Harry's Nimbus away and make him scrub the dungeon.

Draco recalled the paddle in the drawer of Snape's desk and winced, thinking that his rival was going to have trouble sitting down tomorrow, if the expression on Snape's face was anything to go by. Then he too bent his head and began to read.

Severus returned to his recliner, struggling to get hold of his simmering temper. He did not want to confront the boy while he was so angry, he needed time to cool down and think rationally. He took a few deep breaths and started to read again. He would give the defiant child half-an-hour to think about what he'd done and then he would go and give the wretch the rough edge of his tongue, and maybe even some time scrubbing his dirtiest cauldrons.

You could have heard a pin drop, the room was so quiet.

Finally, the three students began to quietly discuss their homework, and Severus glanced at the clock. It was seven forty-five. Fifteen minutes later, he dismissed his students, they went without saying a word, though Hermione did cast a worried glance at the shut door to Harry's room.

Severus rose and stalked over to the boy's room, tapped once, and went in.

"We need to have a talk—" he began, then broke off as he saw that Harry was asleep, sprawled half on and half off the bed.

Severus approached the bed, scowling down at his sleeping charge. He felt like shaking the boy awake, but then changed his mind. "Don't think being asleep will get you out of a well deserved tongue-lashing, boy," he snapped. "I'll just save it up for tomorrow morning, when you'll be nice and rested and can appreciate every last word, you insolent brat."

Then he Switched Harry's uniform for his pajamas and tucked the covers about his wayward ward. Perhaps it was better this way. He would have more time to plan an appropriate punishment.

He left the room on cat's feet, the dim illumination of a night light casting shadows on the wall behind him.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

A silent alarm around twelve midnight woke Irma from a sound sleep. The alarm was silent to all save herself, she had set a ward about the library to alert her if someone had entered it and was doing damage to anything inside, or trying to remove a book without signing it out.

"Bloody Merlin's ghost!" she swore as she rose, Summoning her bedrobe and slippers, and grabbing her wand off the nightstand. "I knew those wretched children couldn't resist breaking into the library after curfew. When I catch whoever is in there, they're going to wish they never got out of bed this morning!"

She quickly exited her quarters and walked swiftly across the hall to the library doors, cancelling the ward as she crossed the threshold. The annoying buzzing quit ringing in her ears, and a single overhead lamp came on as she walked in, illuminating a horrifying sight.

There was a large table in the center of the room, to the left of the circulation desk and in front of the bookshelf of the Society of Ravens. Various scraps of paper from several books were scattered on top of and beneath it, and ink was slowly dripping from an upended inkwell onto the polished wood floor. Quills were snapped in two and flung on the floor as well. But that was not the worst.

Irma put a hand to her mouth as she crept closer to the table, fury pounding a tempo in her head as she took in the damage done to her precious books and library. _How dare they? How DARE they?_ There was an odd black lump in the middle of the table, lying next to a book whose title read _Secrets of the Roman Augurs_, it was an old text detailing how the ancient Romans used auguries to predict important events in their lives. Irma recalled that many augurs read omens in the entrails of goats or birds.

She stared down at the table, uncomprehending at first. It took her eyes and brain a few moments to process the atrocious sight that met her eyes.

Her owl, a tiny elf owl, lay upon the table, eviscerated. A sign was pinned to the poor thing's corpse.

_Beware! Next time this could be you!_

"Merlin have mercy!" she whimpered, half of her fist still covering her mouth. She began to cry. "Pippin! Oh, Pippin!"

Her mind whirled, trying in vain to figure out who could have committed this terrible deed. She felt equal parts of crippling sorrow and burning rage. Someone had killed her familiar, gentle Pippin who had been her companion for over twenty years.

Then she heard a noise behind her.

"Who's there?" she cried, and started to turn, her wand gripped in her fist.

Something struck her hard in the back of the head.

She cried out, then felt herself falling . . .falling into blackness.

**A/N: Finally, an update. It's been awhile, but my muse was urging me to write chapters for Return to Prince Manor, and I have been away for a few days, visiting my sister who has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in Pennsylvania. It's been a very rough couple of weeks, and I also just found out my uncle had a stroke, and is recovering at home from it now. Swear to God, I think my family has some kind of curse on it or something, because bad luck seems to dog our footstepslately. I had most of this written before I learned about any of those things and have just managed to finish this chapter. So please forgive the long wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review!**


	20. The Usual Suspects

**20**

**The Usual Suspects**

It was not often that Lena was woken from a sound sleep by someone screaming _inside_ her own head. She nearly slammed face first into the wall when she was jerked from a deep sleep by her aunt screaming loudly. Her body was up and running before he conscious mind even recognized she had gotten out of bed. End result, she almost crashed into the wall of her bedroom. She caught herself in time, putting out a hand and leaning on the wall. Lena had a limited rapport with those of her blood, she could sometimes sense danger or distress with her telepathy. Shaking her head, trying to clear it of sleep, the young librarian took several deep breaths and tried to analyze the terrible nightmare that had woken her.

She had been dreaming peacefully when suddenly she had heard Aunt Irma screaming. A wail of grief and denial, abruptly cut off. Tentatively, she lowered her Occlumency shields, something she rarely did, for in a school the size of Hogwarts, her shields kept the press of so many minds at bay, preventing her from going insane by hearing too many thoughts at once. She sent out a gentle probe, with most of the staff and students asleep, she could risk it. She didn't go far, searching for her aunt's thread of subconscious, which should have been asleep and dreaming.

Only she could not find it. It was gone, absent from the web of thoughts nearby. Panicked, Lena slammed up her shields and stuffed her feet into her slippers. Grabbing her wand, she bolted from her room and raced next door to her aunt's quarters. When her frantic knocking failed to elicit a response, she used magic to unlock the door and go inside.

There was a cheery fire in the grate, and lamps lip, but the room was empty. "Aunt Irma?" she called softly, not wishing to wake the older woman over what could have been a garden variety nightmare.

Lena crept over to the bedroom, discovering it too was empty, in fact the bed was made neatly and looked as if it hadn't been slept in yet. "She's not here!" the young woman muttered to herself. She checked in the bathroom, but Irma was nowhere to be found.

"It's half past twelve. Could she still be awake in the library?" Lena spun about and half-ran out the door, her wand clutched in her hand.

Upon reaching the library and seeing what lay upon the floor and the table, Lena gave a soft cry of distress and sank down next to the still form of Irma Pince. Two fingers probed the older witch's pulse, it was still there. The bloody lump on the back of Irma's head told a grim tale. Clearly she had been attacked from behind. Lena gently turned her over.

Irma's eyes were closed, she was pale and unresponsive.

Lena's heart began racing. Who could have done this and why? Irma had never done anyone harm. Who would have wanted to hurt her? The librarian quickly conjured a stretcher and levitated her aunt upon it. She then prepared to use the fireplace to get to the Hospital Wing. But as she walked past the table, she caught sight of poor Pippin, gruesomely displayed amid shredded books and a puddle of blood and feathers.

It was too much. Her stomach heaving, Lena darted over to the wastepaper bin and threw up. Finally, after five minutes of purging, she managed to bring her queasy stomach back under control. Then she called for the Headmaster and Severus using her talent, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

Some seven minutes later, Lena had been joined by Dumbledore, Severus, Poppy, and Minerva. Poppy bent over to examine the unconscious Irma with her diagnostic spells while a parchment pale Lena explained how she had discovered her aunt lying face down in a pool of her own blood, and also the poor mutilated owl.

"I just don't understand . . . why would anyone harm my aunt? Or her poor owl?" Lena asked, her eyes bright with fear and shimmering with grief.

Dumbledore had gone to peer at the owl, and found the note. "A warning. Whoever harmed Irma intended the death of her familiar to be a warning to her."

"A warning of what? Not to levy an overdue book fine?" Lena asked, giving a high-pitched little giggle, though there was nothing amusing about the situation.

"I'd say it was much more serious than that," said Dumbledore gravely.

"Forgive me, I'm not myself. Is my aunt going to be all right?" Lena asked then.

Poppy looked up from her ministrations. "I'm afraid that Irma has a very bad concussion, Lena. It has caused her to have an internal bleed upon her brain. I cannot treat her here, I haven't the skill or the staff to monitor her. I must send her to St. Mungos, to the Trauma Unit. They can treat her better there." She looked sorrowfully at Lena. "May I have your permission?"

"Yes, of course." Lena said swiftly.

Poppy Flooed Irma to St. Mungos, disappearing with the stretcher into the fire.

When Lena made to follow, Severus gently laid a hand on her arm. "Lena, please accept my condolences. If you need anything—"

She pulled away from his hold, gulping hard. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears. She firmed her mouth into a stern line, her lips quivering. "Forgive me, Severus. I don't mean to be rude, but if you touch me I shall . . . that is, I might . . . fall apart right here. And I cannot afford to fall apart now. Aunt Irma needs me. But I thank you for your offer and maybe later I'll . . . take you up on it."

"I understand. If you need me, I'll be here." Severus offered.

"Again, thank you. One more thing, please bury Pippin. I can't bear to . . . see him like that. He was Aunt Irma's familiar for almost her whole life." Then she tossed down some Floo Powder and disappeared into the green flames.

Minerva looked over at the remains of the poor owl and whispered, "Albus, whoever did this is obviously . . . insane. We must protect the children."

Albus nodded. "I shall wake Filius and Pomona, and we shall search for the culprit."

"I rather doubt you'll fine whoever did this lingering about the castle," Severus pointed out. "This clearly was a warning against learning something the culprit didn't want us to know." He indicated the shredded volumes. "All of these pertain to some kind of alchemical study. Save for the book on augury. Although that could be a ploy to misdirect us. Obviously someone fears what is contained within the library. We need to set stronger wards about the library, and monitor those who come and go closely. As well as the reading material they borrow. We should also make certain no student is left without adult supervision while studying."

"Speaking of the students, what shall we tell them?" asked Minerva. "If we reveal too much, we could start a panic."

"Hmmm, yes, you're right. We should tell the students that Irma was injured and was rushed to St. Mungos, and the library was vandalized. Might I also suggest that you keep an eye on your students in your House? I would hate to think that any of them were responsible, but we cannot afford to overlook any suspects."

Both House Heads nodded grimly.

Then Severus conjured a shroud and draped it over the poor elf owl. "I shall see to the burial of this poor creature tomorrow." He quickly placed the owl into a small coffin Minerva Transfigured from a paperweight. "Trying to perform any kind of burial tonight is asking for trouble. Perhaps, Headmaster, we should inform Mrs. Norris and Argus about this incident? That way we can have an extra pair of eyes."

"That makes sense, Severus." Dumbledore waved his wand and the library was coured clean of blood and shredded parchment. "Poor Irma! She has been through so much this past year. One can only hope she recovers. Severus, you go and tell Argus what's happened and the other professors. Start trying to look for the one responsible." He eyed Minerva and said, "Minerva, I think we need to strengthen the wards again about the castle. Will you assist me?"

"Of course, Albus." The Gryffindor followed him from the room.

Severus picked up the small coffin and carefully locked and cast several more protective wards about the library. He could not help but think that strengthening the wards around the castle wouldn't do much good if the one who had caused the destruction was inside of it. He returned to his quarters briefly to put the coffin in a safe spot and rouse Skull.

The raven was his eyes and ears and would help search. Once Skull was awake, he sent the raven to speak with the school owls, who were all too eager to help find the owl killer, and the avians mounted a hunt of their own through the castle and the grounds.

Filch and the other House Heads were alerted and began to search quickly but efficiently through the school. Their efforts were fruitless, and turned up nothing, but at least they had tried.

Severus hoped that Irma would recover, it would be a great blow if they lost a member of the Society, there were so few of them. He had a strong suspicion that Quirrell was involved in this game of cat and mouse. If not directly, then he probably knew who was. Severus made a mental note to interrogate the Defense teacher as soon as he had a free moment. As he returned to his quarters for the second time, he recalled that he still had Harry's misbehavior to deal with, and all of this had occurred before five o'clock in the morning.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Dawn broke and the first rays of the rising sun struck the top of the Astronomy Tower. Severus, despite his lack of sleep, was awake and digging a small grave at the foot of a fir tree close beside a small clearing near Hagrid's. He could have asked the gamekeeper for help, the big man would have been happy to assist him with the task, and been done with it in a few minutes, but the professor felt this was something he had to do alone. The death of Irma's familiar hit close to home, as it was only too easy for Severus to imagine Skull in Pippin's place. Severus felt responsible for the owl's burial, and did not mind giving the bird a proper send off; besides in doing so he was helping Lena, and removing one more burden from her shoulders. After all, that was what friends were for, and Severus counted her among the very few friends he had ever had.

As Severus dug the grave, using a shovel enchanted with a Sharpness Charm, Skullduggery glided overhead, his ebony wings shining iridescently in the sunlight. He was accompanied by several owls from the Owlery, all of whom mourned the loss of their cheery little comrade. Many of the owls were also very angry at the manner of Pippin's death, and vowed vengeance upon the culprit.

Skull could not blame them, and hoped whoever had done the heinous deed was found and thrown in Azkaban, or Kissed, though not before his feathered brothers had pecked out the offender's eyes or worse. He circled lazily, watching his wizard closely. Severus seemed none the worse for wear after his late night, digging the grave with smooth efficiency.

When the hole was wide enough and around five feet deep, Severus knelt and levitated the box down into the earth. He then used a simple Reversal Charm to put the dirt back and fill in the grave. Once the earth had been tamped down, Severus waved his wand and a small headstone popped up. Upon the headstone was inscribed:

**Here lies Pippin**

**Faithful friend and Companion**

**Of Irma Pince**

**May he fly forever in**

**The embrace of the Lord of Winds**

**Rest in peace**

"There! How's that, Skull?" asked Severus.

The raven cawed, "That looks very nice, Sev. Irma would be pleased." He perched upon Severus's shoulder and murmured, "But the owls wish to honor their fallen comrade also." He indicated the twenty or so circling owls of all shapes and sizes. "Step back, Sev. Some of them don't see very well in the daytime."

Severus obeyed as the owls began a slow promenade, each one clutching a stone in their talons. One by one they dropped the stones upon the mound of earth, until the grave was covered with a pile of stones, like a cairn.

Skull bobbed his head and then spoke in a soft sepulcheral tone, "Poor Pippin! He was not ready to cross over and now his spirit lingers, lost and confused."

Severus turned to stare at his familiar. "How do you know that?"

Skull made the feathers on his head stand up like a war bonnet. "I'm a raven, I can sense restless spirits. I can feel Pippin hovering. He is confused and frightened. He needs a guide to the Realm of the Dead."

"Can you do it?"

"No. I am not old enough to make the journey safely. But I can summon another of my kind who can help him move on." Skullduggery told him. He drew in a large breath then gave a mighty caw, that echoed in the air like an alarm.

Severus winced and clutched his ears, and the owls too hooted in annoyance.

"Ah, keep your feathers on!" Skull yelled. He ruffled his feathers warningly and hunched upon Severus' shoulder. "She should be here in a few more moments."

"She?"

"Lorelei, the raven guide." Skull answered, preening.

Sure enough, when Severus squinted a few minutes later, he could see a large raven winging its way towards them.

She paused in her flight to caw something at the owls, and greet Skull, before she settled upon the headstone and vanished.

Severus blinked. "Where did she go? Ravens just don't . . . disappear."

"Those who travel the Road of the Dead do," Skull informed his wizard. "She is speaking to Pippin's shade and convincing him to follow her."

"How long will it take them to journey to the Otherworld?"

"It can take as little as a few hours or as long as two days. It all depends upon the strength of the guide and Pippin's willingness to move on." Skull replied. He flicked his tail.

"Can you see them still?"

"No, they have moved beyond my sight," said the raven regretfully. "But if anyone can help Pippin reach the Otherworld, it's Lorelei. She's an experienced traveler on the Gray Road."

Severus sent the shovel back to the gardening shed and dusted off his palms. "I shall hope he reaches his destination safely." He examined the cairn one last time before striding back to the castle to shower and shave before Harry woke.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and reaching over to put on his glasses. Once the room came into focus, he slid out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. As he was washing his face and brushing his teeth, he recalled how he had behaved towards Severus the previous night. He immediately felt a rush of shame and fear flow through him. Shame because he had allowed his temper to direct his actions and behaved like a smartass towards his guardian in front of his friends, and fear because now he was in real trouble with his guardian.

Up until now, Harry had been careful to behave, after getting in hot water with Draco, but now his temper had ruined his streak of good behavior. _Merlin, but I'm so dead! I'm going to end up walloped from here to Australia. Or locked in my room until the term ends. _Now that he looked back, he could see that he had overreacted to Severus' request to lower his voice and be quiet. He had behaved rather like Dudley, and that made him feel guilty and ashamed. He knew he should never have spoken to Severus that way. Now his guardian was probably furious and Harry would suffer for it.

Shivering a little, he finished brushing his teeth and then went to get dressed in his uniform.

He wondered why he had not seen his guardian yet, normally Severus was always awake before him.

Until he heard the door to the apartment open and shut and Severus' footsteps in the den.

Harry quivered, waiting for them to come to his room, but instead he heard them go into the bathroom. He heard the water begin running. He felt himself heave a sigh of relief. He thought about bolting out of Snape's quarters, and so avoiding the lecture he was sure to get, but some vestige of common sense told him that would be a bad idea. It would only make Severus angrier, and perhaps drive the professor to give Harry a scolding in public. Harry couldn't bear if his friends saw him getting his arse reamed out, it would be the ultimate in embarrassment.

He quickly ran a brush through his hair, then bit his lip and walked out of his room, taking a seat upon the couch in the den.

"Hello, _bran-boy_!" Skull greeted. "Why the long face? Are you mourning Pippin or worried about Madam Pince?"

Harry's brow wrinkled. "Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, Skull. Who's Pippin and why would I be worried about Madam Pince?"

"Pippin was her familiar, an elf owl, a right jolly little chap. But now he's dead, Irma found him killed in a grisly fashion upon the library table."

"That's terrible! Who would want to do such a thing?" Harry cried.

"Someone with a very sick and twisted mind," Skull cawed, shaking his head. "Even worse, Madam Pince was—"

"—so distressed when she saw her familiar lying there dead that she fell and accidentally hit her head," Severus interjected swiftly. He shot Skull a warning look. "Lena has taken her to St. Mungos for treatment and currently we are without our librarians. The Headmaster has instructed all the professors to tell every student that they are not permitted in the library alone, but must always be accompanied by a friend or acquaintance, and a professor must know you are there."

"I hope she's all right," murmured Harry. "Do we need a pass to use the library, then?"

"No, simply inform a professor when you are going there. It is believed that an act of vandalism was committed, as several books were found shredded on the floor."

"Someone destroyed books?" Harry cried, dismay written all over his face. "Why would someone do things like this?"

"I do not know. But I am certain there is some ulterior motive here, even one as obvious as to cause fear and anxiety among the staff and students here at school." Severus said seriously. "Therefore I am insisting you continue to remain with your friends going to and from class and to my quarters. There is safety in numbers, young man, and your safety is paramount." He fixed Harry with a stern gaze. "Am I clear, Mr. Potter? If you refuse to abide by my rules, then I shall be forced to escort you to and from class myself, where you shall hold my hand like a toddler."

Harry blanched. "No, sir! Please, don't do that. I promise I'll do what you say. Anything but that."

"Very well." The professor eyed him up and down. "You and I still need to have a discussion about your behavior last night. However, there is no time now to spare. So I shall postpone it until this evening. Then we shall have plenty of time to discuss what prompted your incorrigible behavior and the consequences of it."

Harry hung his head. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Humph!" he checked his watch. "It's almost seven-thirty. Wait here until I finish shaving, then I shall escort you to breakfast." Severus then turned and headed back into the bathroom, his hair was still wet from his shower. It was a good thing he had heard that conversation before Skull had a chance to tell Harry the true reason why Irma was in St. Mungos. He would have to inform the raven to keep mum, as the Headmaster wished to keep a low profile about the attack.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

At breakfast, all anyone could talk about was Madam Pince's accident and her dead familiar. Rumors were rampant about how it could have occurred, some speculated the bird had panicked and flown into a window, killing itself, for none of the students knew the manner of the bird's death, except that it had distressed Madam Pince so much she had fallen and hit her head.

"Maybe it died of heart failure," Neville mused. "My gran had a canary once that just dropped dead in its water dish one morning."

"That's not what I heard," said Dean Thomas. "I heard Filch tell McGonagall that he was glad he didn't have to scrub the blood out of the carpet and off the wood. So that sounds like the owl was killed or something, how else could it be bleeding that badly?"

"What if it flew and impaled itself on glass?" Hermione speculated.

"That wouldn't be enough to make it bleed that badly. Filch made it sound like there was a big mess." Thomas pointed out.

"What if . . . somebody really did kill the owl?" Ron asked.

"Ron, why would anyone want to kill an owl? They are harmless and innocent." Hermione said.

"There are a lot of crazies that don't like animals. A dark wizard will stop at nothing to experiment on a subject."

"Ron, there are no dark wizards in the castle. The wards prevent them from entering," Hermione said, somewhat superciliously.

"Oh, yeah? Well, there's someone here who gets their jollies killing off our owls and maybe he's not going to stop there."

"Who do you suppose . . .?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. Could be anyone, a student, a professor, a stranger."

"A professor?" Hermione sounded as if Ron had insulted her firstborn. "That's impossible! Dumbledore screens all his applicants."

Ron glared at her. "Fine! If you're so smart, _you_ tell me who could have done it."

"Well . . . it might have been a student. He or she might have been trying to make the owl sick and it died by mistake. Or it could have been Filch. He's always roaming the castle in the middle of the night with that creepy cat of his. Mrs. Norris could have attacked the bird and killed it and then Filch would try and cover it up so Mrs. Norris wouldn't get in trouble."

"That's possible," Ron admitted reluctantly. "Who else?"

"Well . . . I think Quirrell's creepy enough to have done it, with all his twitching and stammering and sometimes . . . sometimes I get a strange feeling when he looks at me," Harry offered. He picked at his breakfast, his appetite was decreased because of his nervousness.

"Harry, Quirrell has a nervous disorder," Hermione began.

"I agree with Harry, he's still creepy," Ron said. Then he added, "But even though he makes my skin crawl, I don't know if he'd have the guts to kill anything. He seems like the type who'd faint at the sight of blood."

"It must have been someone who really has a grudge against Madam Pince or the hates books," Hermione speculated while eating her banana. "Poor Madam Pince! It must have been a dreadful shock, to come upon her familiar, and worse, her books, destroyed! I'm not surprised she fainted."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione, only you would think it okay to faint over books being destroyed."

Hermione gave him a glare. "Ron, to a bibliophile, the destruction of a book is like . . . like having a friend die suddenly. It hurts just as much as losing her familiar. Look at all the time she put into restoring the library and obtaining all those volumes. I really hope they catch whoever did it and . . . and break all their fingers and rip all their teeth out by the roots without anesthesia!"

"Whoa! I think she's gone batty!" Ron cried, his eyes bulging with horror at the brown-haired girl.

"No, she's just upset," Harry said. He gave Hermione a commiserating look. He understood what she meant, and the wanton destruction of the books made him angry also. Priceless knowledge was now gone and unless there had been copies, the books could never be replaced. He drank several swallows of his apple juice, and nibbled on a piece of toast.

"See, Harry understands what I mean," Hermione said.

Finally breakfast was over and Harry hurried outside to the greenhouse for Herbology. On the way, Malfoy passed by him and queried, "So, did Snape take the paddle to you for answering him back last night?"

Harry felt himself start to turn red at the other boy's assumption. He was about to tell the Slytherin to mind his own business when Hermione spoke up.

"What are you talking about, Malfoy? Hogwarts doesn't allow teachers to use canes or paddles any more. Not since Dumbledore became Headmaster."

Draco snorted. "Shows how much you know, Granger."

"You're . . . you're putting me on," Hermione insisted, though there was a note of uncertainty in her voice. "Right, Harry? Professor Snape would never use a paddle on you. I'll bet he doesn't even own one."

"No? Next time take a peek in the bottom lefthand drawer of his desk," Draco said, then he hurried down the path.

"Don't listen to him, mate. If the professors were allowed to use paddles on the students, Fred and George would have permanent blisters on their bums and still not be able to sit down for all the trouble they've got into." Ron said. "Malfoy's just trying to scare you, the git."

_Your brothers were never in Slytherin,_ Harry thought in consternation. _Or had Uncle Severus for a guardian._ He tried to still the butterflies in his stomach, which was threatening to heave up his breakfast. _But Uncle Severus promised never to spank me unless I deliberately put my life in danger,_ Harry reminded himself.

"So, what _did_ he do to you?" Ron whispered.

"Nothing. Yet. See, I fell asleep in my room and this morning, he . . . told me he didn't have time to deal with me, so it'd have to wait till tonight." Harry answered.

"Oh. That really sucks. I hate waiting for punishments. It's always best to get them over with." Ron said sympathetically.

Harry couldn't have agreed more.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Severus spent the morning brewing several drafts for Madam Pomfrey, Decongestion Elixirs, Pepperup Potion and other drafts to combat the chills, sniffles, and coughs that always accompanied the winter term. He then taught a class of third-years how to make a Clarifying Draught. When he finally had a free period, just before lunch, he fire-called St. Mungos and inquired about Irma. The Healer assigned to her case told Severus that she was still unconscious and in a bad way, though they had stabilized the bleed. But it remained to be seen when she would wake or even if she would wake.

Severus cursed roundly in his head, then withdrew from the fire. "Bloody damn hell!"

"How is she, Sev?" queried Skull, his voice concerned.

"Not good," the Potions Master explained what the Healer had said. "I believe it's time to have another little talk with Quirinius," he said ominously.

Skull chuckled evilly. "Can I come and watch? I do so love a good interrogation scene, where you scare the bastard so bad he fouls himself."

"Skullduggery, you are evil."

"No, Sev. I'm a raven."

"Come, my friend. Let us see what Quirrell has to say about this incident."

Snape led the way from the dungeon, heading up to the Defense office. But it was empty, Quirrell was nowhere in sight. "That's odd. This is his prep period, and usually any Defense professor worth his salt would be grading homework."

"Faa! He's no Defense professor, he's a joke!" sneered Skull.

Just then, they heard footsteps coming down the hall towards the office. Severus cocked his head, then crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Quirrell limped into the room, dragging his left leg. His turban was askew slightly and he looked even more nervous and twitchy than usual. He jumped like a hare when he caught sight of the Potions Master. "S-Severus! What are you d-doing here?"

"I came to speak with you about the recent incident in the library," Severus replied silkily, his eyes narrowing. "Quirnius, are you injured? You're limping."

"Injured? W-Why n-no . . . not really . . ."

Severus peered down at the other wizard's left foot. "Then why are you limping?"

"I . . . I turned my ankle on the stairs," Quirrell gave him a weak grin. "Silly of me, right?"

"I wasn't aware sprains made you bleed," Severus pointed out icily, having seen the tell-tale splotches of blood upon Quirrell's robes.

"Oh, w-w-well, you see . . . it's nothing, really . . ."

Skull moved then, flying down and twitching aside Quirrell's gray robes to reveal a swollen ankle that sported a deep gash. "Oohh! Looks like a nasty bite!"

"Indeed." Severus was scowling, his obsidian eyes burning with anger. "Where did you get that bite, Quirrell? From a dog? You've been down the third floor corridor, haven't you?"

"I . . . I . . . just went to . . . to make sure all was well and . . . I . . . scared the dog and it . . . bit me. Vicious brute!" Quirrell admitted, quivering.

"You pathetic lump of lard!" hissed Severus, lunging at the other wizard, and picking him up by his collar. "Now, you listen to me good! What do you know about Irma's accident and her owl's death? Tell me, or by God I'll have you wishing the dog ripped out your throat. Where were you last night?"

Quirrell shrank back in his chair. "I . . . I was in my chambers . . . trying to sleep . . . I don't know why you think I . . . w-would ever harm Irma . . ."

"I believe you capable of anything if your life is at stake. What did he promise you, Quirinius? Magic? Power? Courage? What price for you to betray your oath as a teacher?" Severus queried coldly. "Save yourself pain, Quirinius and confess. Otherwise it will go hard with you." He pulled his wand and tapped the other wizard with it on the throat.

Quirrell whimpered. "I know nothing, Severus! Not about Irma or her owl. Please, I know nothing about Irma's owl."

"Stop lying, you pathetic milksop!" Skull ordered, flying down to assist. "Do you know what we do to owl killers, you cringing coward? Vengeance is mine, quoth the raven!" Skull made a terrible hissing growl and flew right in the other's face, his sword-sharp beak pointed directly at Quirrell's eyes. "We peck out their eyes! Fancy being blind, professor? You'd be a real eyesore, now wouldn't you? Ha! Get it? Do you know that eyeballs taste delicious? My uncle always ate them first when we feasted on roadkill. The eyes are the tenderest, juiciest part of carrion." The raven said with relish.

Quirrell cringed against the wall, one hand coming up to cover his eyes. "Please, don't hurt me! Don't let him hurt me!" he pleaded frantically to Severus.

Severus shrugged. "You know, Quirinius, ravens aren't ordinary familiars. If he decides to peck out your eyes because you killed Irma's owl, there's not much I can do to stop him. Why are you so afraid if you have done nothing wrong? You're trembling and twitching as if you have an ague. Are you ill? Or perhaps you merely have a guilty conscience, eh?"

"No! I've done nothing!" yelped Quirrell.

"Answer this then. Why were you down in the third floor corridor? What need could you have of being there at this time?"

"I . . . I was m-making sure that . . . it w-was safe. Checking on things, you know," he gave a weak chuckle.

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Why would you assume the protections needed checking on? Has someone been tampering with them?"

Quirrell gulped hard. "No . . . I . . . d-d-on't believe so! I j-just . . . w-wanted . . ."

"Wanted to what? What did you want, Quirinius? To gloat over how stupid we all were? Did you go to the library last night seeking information? Did Irma discover you there, looking for forbidden knowledge? Is that why you struck her down? To keep her quiet? _Is it_?" Severus growled, practically spitting on the other wizard in his fury.

Quirrell dissolved into a quivering puddle of goo, unable to face Severus' antipathy and knowing black eyes. For there was a secret he was concealing, a terrible one, and his only defense was to collapse to avoid revealing it. His eyes rolled back in his head and he promptly fainted.

Severus made a sound of extreme disgust, and nudged the professor with the toe of his boot.

"Bloody coward!" Skull sneered. "I didn't even poke out one eye before he passed out cold."

"He is hiding something, Skullduggery. I don't trust him. I'll need you to keep an eye on him, old friend. Watch where he goes, who he talks to. Report back to me any unusual behaviors, especially with his students. There is something . . . sinister about him."

"He's rotten to the core, the gutless shit-for-brains," Skull cawed. "I'll follow and be glad of it."

"Skullduggery, would Pippin's shade know his murderer?" Severus asked, getting a flash of insight.

"Well, that would depend on the manner of his death," the raven mused.

"Could you ask the she-raven if she could find out? It would help a great deal."

"I shall ask when she returns. Sometimes those who have been yanked from life untimely speak of their death as they move to the Otherworld."

"How long will this journey take, do you know?"

"Time runs differently there. I shall wait outside, Sev. This quivering lump of jelly won't be waking anytime soon."

"You do that, Skull. Thank you for your assistance."

"It was nothing, Sev. The killer must be caught and brought to justice."

Severus sighed. "Now I must go and deal with Harry."

Skull looked at him curiously. "What has he done now, Severus?"

Severus told him.

"Ah, well, we once were all insolent brats in our lives. Don't be too hard on him. He's a good lad."

"Except when he's being incorrigible," snorted the wizard. "I'll see you later."

Skullduggery flew away from the comatose Quirrell, whom Severus left propped against the wall of the classroom, soaring up towards the open window of the Owlery.

Severus headed down to his quarters for lunch, he tried as much as possible to avoid eating every meal in the hall. While he ate his tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, he pondered on the discussion he would have with his ward later on that evening and what consequences to give the boy for his behavior. Though he knew Harry had been on edge for several days, that did not excuse the disrespect shown his guardian. Severus knew he had to be fair yet firm also. By the time he was done with lunch he had figured out an appropriate punishment.

Then he only had one more class of Double Potions to teach his fourth years before dinner, and afterwards he would take Harry in hand.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_St. Mungo's Hospital:_

Lena sat beside her aunt's hospital bed, feeling three quarters numb to one part terrified out of her wits. She wanted to burst into tears like a distraught teenager and at the same time run screaming from the room. She felt unaccountably guilty that someone had attacked Irma, she couldn't help feeling that it should have been her lying in the hospital bed rather than the elderly witch. At least Lena might have had a better chance of coming out of the coma, she was younger, stronger, and healed quicker.

She reached out a hand and clasped Irma's limp one in her own. "Aunt Irma, I'm here. You're not alone. But I really wish . . . you'd wake up. Please? I need you. I'm sorry I didn't hear you sooner." A single tear, all that she would permit herself, flowed down her cheek.

There was no response from the woman in the bed. Irma Pince still breathed, but other than that she might as well have been a wax effigy for all the life she showed. There were Monitoring Charms cast all over her and the bed. The Healers had managed to halt the bleed, but couldn't tell if there was any additional damage to her brain as yet.

They would need to wait twenty-four hours before they could cast a neurological diagnostic again.

In the meantime, Irma was in limbo, and Lena was waiting, waiting like a faithful dog at the grave of her mistress, praying in swift bursts, her fingernails scoring her palms with crescent marks.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry barely choked down his Nutrient Potion and ate a few bites of turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes before pushing his plate away. He just couldn't eat another bite with the confrontation still to come looming over his head. He darted a quick glance up to the staff table, and saw his guardian talking with Professor McGonagall. The man's face was calm, and Harry hoped that much of the anger from last night had been drained away.

"I . . . I'm going to go and study," he murmured to Ron and Hermione. He stood up and made his way out of the hall before his two friends could comment on his sudden urge to hit the books. He figured if he went down to the dungeons and Severus saw him engaged in something academic, he would be more willing to be lenient. Harry knew how much emphasis the professor put on homework.

He entered Snape's quarters and pulled out his Herbology text. The assignment tonight consisted of drawing the three plants they had studied and listing their properties and uses. Harry went over to Severus' desk and took out a small case, which contained a set of colored pencils. Severus kept a set of them in his drawer to sketch out new types of herbs for his potions ingredients because it was faster than drawing with a quill and ink. Now Harry borrowed them to add some color to his project.

When Severus entered his apartment an hour or so later, he found his ward industriously coloring in the drawings he had made upon the coffee table. The Potions Master watched silently for several moments, not wishing to disturb the boy lest he cause Harry to mess up his assignment. When it appeared that Harry was finished, Severus cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

Harry jumped, scattering pencils all over the floor. Severus had been so quiet that Harry had not heard him come in. "Oh! Hi, Uncle Severus. I was just finishing up my Herbology homework." He flushed and knelt to pick up the pencils, some of which had rolled beneath the table.

"I can see that." The professor's tone was neutral. "If you are finished, we need to have a long talk."

Harry felt his stomach do a flipflop. He slowly gathered up the pencils and set them on the table. Then he sat back down on the couch, placing his assignment down. "Uh, how's Madam Pince? Is she better?"

Severus shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Her condition is still serious. She hasn't woken since it happened, though her vitals are stable now. Lena is with her, waiting to see if she will wake."

Harry's face fell. "But . . . I thought you could fix almost anything with magic."

"I only wish that were so. But the brain is a complex organ and sometimes even magic cannot mend what has gone wrong. Though the surgeons and neuro-Healers at St. Mungos are very good, they will try their best. The rest, as they say, is in the hands of the Creator."

"I really hope she gets well. She's not so bad, once you get to know her and I . . . like having her as my librarian."

"As do I. You may send her a get well package if you wish." Severus cleared his throat and stood with his arms crossed. "Now, let us stop stalling, young man, and discuss your behavior last night. What came over you, that you felt the need to both shout at me and treat me so disrespectfully? Did you think because your friends were there that you would be allowed to test my authority?"

Harry immediately dropped his eyes to the carpet. "No, sir."

"Excuse me? Look at me when I'm talking to you. Repeat what you just said, I could hardly hear you."

Harry's eyes slowly came up to meet Severus' obsidian ones. "I said, no, sir."

"Then why do it? You must have had a reason."

Harry swallowed, his throat was dry. He thought back to how angry he had been the previous night. Now it seemed silly, the way he had acted, like a spoiled little boy. "I . . . it was . . . I was angry . . . not at you, but I was angry at Ron, for treating me like a sodding baby that needed his hand held everywhere I went . . ."

"Mr. Potter, watch your language!" Severus reprimanded automatically.

"Sorry. But it really makes me nuts, being followed around like that. It reminds me of Dudley, he used to follow me everywhere when I was doing chores or whatever, just so he could make me mess up and get into trouble with Aunt Petunia."

"I see. However, I asked Ronald to follow you, because whoever this Fifth Marauder is, it's obvious that he or she bears a grudge both against me and you for choosing me as your guardian. Such a person is not rational and may eventually try and harm you when you least expect it. There is safety in numbers, Harry, as well as witnesses should something untoward occur. That is why I asked Ronald and Draco to shadow you. I was not aware you had issues with it, as it's for your own good."

"I can't help it!" Harry said defensively.

"That is something we ought to work on, since I cannot be beside you every minute. Perhaps Skull would be more inconspicuous and cause less embarrassment?"

"Yes. Skull would be okay."

Too late Severus recalled he had already asked the raven to spy upon Quirrell. Scowling at himself for the oversight, the professor decided he would speak to the raven later and see if he could observe Harry during school and Quirrell at night, which seemed the most likely time for the Defense teacher to commit crimes.

He continued, fixing Harry with a stern look. "However, that still does not excuse your childish attitude towards me. You showed a total disregard for me as both a teacher and guardian, not to mention being noisy enough to disrupt my own research. How do you think that made me feel?"

"Angry and annoyed." Harry said in a small voice.

"How would you feel if I treated you that way?"

"I'd be angry and annoyed too. But I didn't mean to slam the door . . . well, not really . . . and it wasn't really you I was mad at either."

"Nevertheless, you let your temper dictate your actions, which is never a good thing. When you are angry, you say things you might regret later, hurt people without meaning to. Do things you know you shouldn't. As you did last night."

"I know, sir. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk back like that." He ducked his head again, feeling terribly guilty and ashamed. "Are you going to . . . paddle me?"

Severus' eyebrow shot up. "No. Why would you think so?"

"Draco said you might."

"Draco is not your guardian, nor does he dictate discipline to me. What did I tell you would earn you a spanking from me?"

"If I . . . deliberately put myself in danger."

"Yes. Disrespect, while something I do not tolerate, is not life-threatening. Therefore, your backside is safe from my hand. However, since it seems you feel uncomfortable around your friends during your study time, I shall restrict them from my quarters for two days, which will give you time to learn to control your temper and also appreciate the beauty of silence. Furthermore, you will go to bed by nine, as rest will also sweeten your temper and curb your impatience with my rules. You shall also forgo dessert for the next two days, as too much sugar tends to make you hyper and less inclined to sit and study. Last but not least, you shall spend Saturday scrubbing out the fireplace here, in the library, and in Madam Pince's chambers. While you scrub you can meditate on the value of holding your tongue and treating others as you would like to be treated."

Harry groaned. No friends, no dessert, early bedtime, and chores. It was very like being grounded, though Severus didn't use that term. Harry had never been grounded before, only locked up in his cupboard, and he knew he would hate it, matter of fact he already did. But he couldn't really protest, as he deserved it. "Yes, sir. Next time I'll try and control myself better."

"See that you do, or else you shall get double the punishment next time." Severus warned. "Have you completed all of your assignments for tomorrow?"

"No, just Herbology."

"Finish what you have due, then get ready for bed. You might as well start getting used to going to sleep early." Then Severus removed his robes and hung them upon a hook on the wall. He carefully unbuttoned his coat and hung it next to them, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and put on his slippers. He made himself some Black Diamond coffee and settled down in his recliner to await Skull's return. He had expected the raven to be back before this, but perhaps the bird had gone hunting.

He sipped his coffee and read from a potions periodical while Harry completed his homework. There was an odd feeling of relief in his chest at having settled the matter of his ward's disrespect. He just hoped Harry had learned his lesson and he didn't need to repeat it anytime soon.

Harry found that not being with his friends studying was rather boring. Time seemed to creep by, but at last he had finished all of his homework and went to get ready for bed. He felt a little tired, but also relieved that he had survived Severus' wrath.

He quickly scrubbed his face, brushed his teeth, and pulled on his pajamas. On the way to his room, he called out, "Good night, Uncle Severus."

Severus lifted his gaze from his magazine. "Good night, Harry."

Harry crawled into bed, the sheets were chilly, and he used his wand to perform a basic warming Charm on them so he didn't spend seven minutes shivering under the covers. Once he was toasty, he snuggled down beneath the duvet, placed his glasses on the nightstand, and fell asleep in moments.

In the den, Severus finished his cup of coffee and made another one, before hearing a familiar rapping upon his chamber door. He gestured and the door swung open to admit Skullduggery.

"What have you discovered?" he asked once the door was shut and his wards were activated.

Skull flew over and perched upon the chair arm. "I asked Lorelei if Pippin had revealed anything about his attacker, but she said all he kept saying was a burning red light hit him, and then he found himself in the Beyond."

"He never saw who killed him?"

"I'm afraid not. He was perched upon the table, eating a mouse he had caught running across the floor, so his back was to the door. He never expected to be attacked or murdered."

"No more than Irma did. Whoever did this planned it carefully."

"Do you think it was Quirrell?"

"It's possible, though I am beginning to doubt it. Quirinius is a coward at heart, if he were responsible he would have spilled his guts to me earlier. But he is hiding something, perhaps he knows the identity of the attacker. He must be watched."

"Have no fear. I'm on it." Skull reassured his wizard.

"Could you also manage to keep an eye on Harry during the day?" Severus requested. He informed the raven about Harry's dislike of people following him, as well as the punishment meted out for his misbehavior. "Do you think that was an appropriate punishment, Skull?"

"It was harsh, yet fair." The raven said. "My mother used to peck me on the head when I was insolent with her."

Severus' mouth twitched into a crooked smile. "I'm surprised you don't have several holes in your head by now."

"Very funny, Sev. Don't quit your day job, professor." Then the raven walked up to Snape's shoulder and began to groom his wizard's long silky hair.

The motion was very soothing, and Severus began to doze, the warmth of the fire and the coffee serving to lull him into Morpheus' realm.

Until he was woken by a very loud scream.

He jerked awake instantly, his wand flying into his hand. The scream had come from Harry's room.

A moment later he was on his feet and headed across the den.

**A/N: I know it has been forever since my last update, but I was working on finishing Return to Prince Manor, and have finally completed it after two and a half years! If you haven't read the last chapter of that story, I think something was wrong with the alert system, please do so and leave me a review so I know how you liked it or whatever. **

**What did you think of this chapter? Did you agree with Skull when he said Sev's punishment was fair? Who do you suspect is behind the attack on Irma? Please review so i know you're still reading and haven't forgotten about this story. Thank you!**


	21. Dragon, Dragon

**21**

**Dragon, Dragon**

Severus had learned to wake at the slightest noise, and Harry's scream was like a siren in his ears. He was on his feet, wand at the ready, and striding across the den before the haze of sleep had fully cleared from his brain. But fast as he was, Skullduggery was faster.

The raven launched himself into the air and streaked towards Harry's room at lightning speed, arriving there scant seconds before the Potions Master. "_Bran-boy_, are you well?" cawed Skull, his voice that of a concerned woman he had heard at the Tower of London one day.

The raven hovered in the air above Harry's bed, eyes darting left and right. But there was nothing in Harry's room that Skullduggery could see or sense with his otherworldly instincts. No boggart lurking in the wardrobe, or zombie in the closet. Not that Skull had expected anything to be there, Severus' wards would have kept out the High Lord of Hell, they were that powerful.

No, the cause of Harry's scream was not from an outside source. It had come from within, the raven observed, as Harry jerked upright, his hair sticking in all directions, green eyes wide with a fascinated kind of horror, as if he had witnessed an atrocity committed and been unable to look away in spite of himself. He wrapped his arms about himself and shivered.

"Easy, _bran-boy_. It was just a nightmare," Skull crooned, flying down to land on Harry's blanket covered knee. The raven made his head feathers stand up and then flatten repeatedly and made a soothing purring noise.

Severus appeared at the bedroom door a moment afterwards. "Harry? What's the matter?" he asked, looking about in alarm.

Harry was too upset to answer his guardian at first, so he kept silent, fixing his eyes upon an unraveled thread in his comforter. His heart was pounding like a runaway train, and the terrible image that had caused him to scream in terror still hung before his eyes.

"I think he had a nightmare, Sev," Skull told the other wizard helpfully.

"Obviously," the other rolled his eyes. Then he approached his ward, moving slowly so as not to startle the boy further. He reached out and laid a hand upon Harry's shoulder lightly, not gripping, but almost patting after a fashion. "It's all right, child. You're awake, in your own room, and there is nothing here to harm you. Skull and I would never let anything happen to you."

Severus kept his voice low, his tone soothing, like rich dark velvet it flowed about the frightened boy, until Harry shifted his eyes a quarter of an inch upward and looked at Severus.

"I know, Uncle Severus. It's just . . ." Harry reached out a hand and began to stroke Skull, the touch of the raven's sleek obsidian feathers against his hand calming him better than any potion.

For long moments he stroked the raven, and Severus waited patiently for Harry to reveal what he had dreamed that had frightened him so.

The Potions Master seated himself upon the bed, still resting one long-fingered hand upon Harry's shoulder. He did not ask any more probing questions, wishing the boy to tell him about the nightmare of his own volition. The professor was relieved that a nightmare was all it had been, for a moment he had feared Harry had been attacked by the same something that had gone after Irma, despite his wards. But his fears were now groundless, and he exhaled softly.

Harry worried his bottom lip, considering whether or not to speak of his dream with his guardian. He didn't think Snape would sneer at him for reacting the way he had to the nightmare. But he wasn't sure he could speak of the awful thing without breaking down, this nightmare was almost as bad as the one he used to have of his mother dying.

Absently, he reached up and rubbed his scar, it was throbbing.

"Your scar is hurting?" the sharp-eyed wizard asked.

Harry nodded. "A little bit. I don't know why."

Severus gently tilted his ward's chin up so he could better examine the scar. It looked red and irritated. Waving his wand, Severus Summoned some Essence of Dittany salve and applied it to the scar. The redness vanished immediately. "How do you feel now?"

"Better, sir. Thank you."

Severus banished the salve back to his cabinet. "When did your scar begin hurting?"

"Right after I woke up." Harry admitted.

"Hmm . . ." Severus looked thoughtful. Could there be a connection to the nightmare? Had Harry been sent a vision or perhaps shared a memory with the one who had given him the scar? Severus knew that most of the wizarding world assumed Voldemort had perished, but he knew that the Dark Lord had practiced many old spells to preserve his existence, and might have had a part of his spirit survive.

"What do you think it means?"

"I am not sure," Severus replied. "It could mean nothing or anything."

"What did you dream of?" queried Skullduggery, curious.

"Do you really want to know? Because I . . . really don't want to talk about it."

"Then you do not have to," Severus said simply, and leveled a warning look at his familiar.

"True, but speaking of it might help," Skull told Harry. "It would help you clear your mind."

Harry heaved a sigh. He knew the raven was correct. Speaking of his nightmares about Lily had helped him resolve the night terrors. One thing he was certain of, and that was he never wanted to have this particular dream again. "All right. I'll give it a go. But it was weird. I don't understand why I even dreamed it, Uncle Severus." He coughed slightly, as his throat was dry.

Severus snapped his fingers and a cup of cool water appeared on the night stand. "Here. This will soothe your throat. You sound as if you are catching a cold."

Harry drank the water, it cooled his throat, and then he began. "In the dream . . . I was walking through a huge forest. The trees were so big I couldn't see the tops of them and the ground was wreathed in mist. I felt like I was walking forever, the forest was so quiet, there weren't any birds or insects making noise. It was eerie. Then I heard it . . . the scream of . . . something in pain. I didn't want to keep on, but I had to. It was like something was tugging at me and I had to keep walking.

"Finally, I came into a clearing and I saw . . . I saw it. A unicorn, just lying on the ground, its eyes were blank and still. It was dead, I could see the wound in its chest. Like . . like something had ripped open its chest. There were pools of blood all over the ground. But that wasn't the worst. There was a . . . thing hovering over the body . . . it was dark and cloaked and it . . . was feeding off the unicorn . . . like a vampire. It was drinking the unicorn blood and I could feel . . . it enjoying it . . . It had glowing red eyes, like a beast . . . and it tore the unicorn apart in the end . . . Then it laughed and laughed . . . I was so scared it would find me . . . Then it looked at me and I knew I was going to die . . . only I woke up instead." He looked faintly ashamed. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"You have no need to apologize," the professor brushed off the boy's shame and guilt. "Remember, I told you before that you may always come to me with a problem, Harry. That nightmare sounds very vivid, almost like a vision rather than a dream . . . perhaps someday we should test you to see if you bear the talent of the Sight, though that talent usually runs in families and the Potters never possessed it."

"What about my mum's family?"

"The Evans were Muggles, and as far as I know, your mother was the only witch of her line. Still . . . it's possible, Muggles do possess some strains of magic. But we can explore that possibility another time."

"Those with the Old Magic often see things from afar," Skull croaked abruptly.

"Then you think it was real . . . not just a dream?" asked Harry.

The raven fluffed his feathers. "Sometimes a dream is merely a dream, other times it is not. And even if it wasn't, who is to say whether what you saw was a vision that may be, or could be, or will be? Only a trained Seer could determine that, and sometimes not even then."

"A fine thing to set the boy's mind at ease, Skullduggery," scolded Severus.

"Hey, I tell it like it is, Snape." The raven hissed.

"For now, we shall assume it was not a foretelling," Severus quickly asserted, for he didn't wish to be up all night. But the scar hurting bothered him profoundly, as it suggested a link to something dark and dangerous. He did not want to alarm Harry, and so he spoke nothing of his theory. Instead, he said, "If you would like, I can help you Occlude your mind for tonight."

"How do you do that?"

"You must let me enter your memories for a brief time, so I can place mind shields inside your head. It will not hurt, but do you trust me enough to allow me to see those memories again?"

"Will it keep the nightmare from returning?"

"Yes", Snape replied. It would also prevent anything from gaining access to Harry's mind.

"Go ahead," Harry acquiesced.

Severus placed the tip of his wand against Harry's forehead and said, "Legilimens."

He quickly found the memory of the nightmare, as it was fresh in the boy's mind, corralled it and fenced it with a thick layer of nothing in particular, a blank wall that was impossible to see through. Then he set certain mind shields inside Harry's head, triple-layered so no psychic intrusion was possible. It took about three minutes to do so and then Severus withdrew.

"There! It is done."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Severus. But there's just one problem."

"Oh?"

"Now I'm wide awake and not sleepy."

"Perhaps some warm milk with honey might help?" the professor suggested, as that was his mother's remedy whenever he couldn't fall asleep as a child.

"All right."

Snape requested a glass from one of the school elves, and it soon popped up on the nightstand.

But even after drinking it and snuggling down beneath the covers, Harry was still not sleepy.

Skull crooned a lullaby, but even the raven failed to coax the boy back to sleep. "Perhaps a story, Sev? A good story always makes me sleep. You told me once that when you were a boy, you used to read before bed."

"I still do, you meddling featherduster," the Potions Master grumbled. But the raven's suggestion caused him to remember a favorite book he had read over and over as a child. In fact, he still owned the copy. "_Accio The Jungle Book stories_."

Mere moments later a rather worn copy of said book, with a dust jacket of a boy and a panther on the cover flew into Snape's hand. The pages were still crisp and tight, if a bit yellowed with age. He turned to Harry, who was peering at the book curiously. "_The Jungle Book_ by Rudyard Kipling. Have you read this before?"

"No. I saw it in the library back in Surrey, and always meant to take it out, but I never had the chance. Aunt Petunia would never let me have a library card, and it was too long to read it one sitting, while I was hiding from Dudley."

Severus muttered something under his breath that was very uncomplimentary about Harry's relatives. "Well, this was mine when I was ten, I shall loan it to you if you'd like."

"Please!" the green eyes were alight with joy. "I'll be very careful with it."

"I know you shall." Severus started to hand the book to him.

Harry abruptly asked, "Maybe you could . . . read it to me? It's not that I can't read it myself . . . but sometimes Uncle Vernon used to read to Dudley . . . and I've always . . . Never mind, I guess I'm too old for it now."

In answer, Severus opened the book to the first chapter, and began to read the story of Mowgli. His deep rich voice filled the room, and Harry found himself transported to the jungles of India, at a time when the animals ruled in their own world, and men hardly ventured. Severus read of how a baby had wandered away and found the cave of a mother wolf by night, and she raised him as her own, calling him Mowgli-which meant frog—for he was hairless as one, and protected him from Shere Khan, the lame tiger, who wished to eat him. And so Mowgli became a boy raised by wolves.

By the time Severus had reached the end of the first chapter, Harry found his eyes starting to close. He yawned and murmured, "It's a really good story, but I'm falling asleep."

"We shall read some more tomorrow night," the professor said, marking the page with a scrap of blue ribbon, an old hair ribbon of Eileen's, as he had done as a boy. He rose to his feet and before he could Nox the light, Harry was asleep.

Skull flew to Severus' shoulder. "Good job, Dad," the raven hissed in his ear. "And now, to bed, for I am weary."

"You're not the only one," snorted the Potions Master, and glided from the room, leaving the door ajar.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

The next evening, Severus read some more about Mowgli, and his animal teachers, Baloo the Bear, who taught all the cubs the Jungle Law, and the clever Bagheera, the black Panther, who had been born in captivity but had freed himself and became wild. Harry came to look forward to his evenings with Severus after a long day of classes. It was pleasant to be read to after studying and practicing magic, especially since Hermione kept pushing Ron, Draco, Neville, and him to study more, since exams were coming up in a little over a month. Sometimes Skull would chime in, doing impressions of different voices, like Akela the wise pack leader, or Shere Khan the tiger, and Severus had the hissing soft voice of Kaa the Rock Python down cold.

Irma was still at St. Mungos, still in a coma, and Lena stayed with her as much as she could, nearly a week had passed since Irma had been struck down by her mysterious assailant. Severus visited the two librarians one night after supper. Several students had sent owls of cards and baskets of fruit and candy, even a plant and some books. Lena had them all lined up on a table, with preserving spells set on the fruit, waiting for Irma to wake and enjoy the bounty of gifts.

Lena sat in a comfortable wingback chair, quietly talking to Irma, telling her what had happened since she had been sent to St. Mungos. She looked up when Severus entered, saying to him, "Hello, Severus. Aunt Irma, Severus has come to visit. It's too bad you can't open your eyes and say hello to him." To Severus, she said, "It's been studied that patients in comas can sometimes respond to stimuli. So I talk to her every day and let her know that there's still someone here for her."

"I have heard that also," Severus said, noting that Lena looked drawn, as if she hadn't been sleeping much, there were dark circles under her eyes. She seemed wan and depressed. "How long have you been here, Lena?"

"I came as soon as I woke up, right after I had breakfast."

"You've been in this room all day long?"

"Mostly. I . . . I'm afraid to leave her for long, Severus. What if she wakes and I'm not there?"

"That is a possibility, but Lena, you must also think about yourself. It's not healthy to sit and brood on what might be. You need to get out for awhile. How about coming out for some supper with me?" Severus invited. "Or have you eaten already?"

"No . . . I . . . I haven't had much of an appetite lately. I usually grab a bite to eat from the hospital café."

"Some fresh air will do you good. The staff here will monitor Irma and alert you if there's any change." He persuaded. He did not like the way she had become so withdrawn, so changed from the lively young woman she had been.

Lena hesitated. She did long to see something besides the four walls of the hospital room and Severus's offer was tempting. But she felt disloyal to Irma, going out and leaving her aunt alone.

Severus sensed her indecision and said, "Lena, Irma would not want you to remain cloistered in this room for days on end. Come, it's only for an hour or so, then you can return here."

"I . . . all right, Severus. Thank you for inviting me."

"What are friends for?"

They went to a local restaurant, which served generous portions of shepherd's pie and fish and chips. Lena discovered she was ravenous, and devoured everything on the plate, much to her shock. "Merlin! I must have been hungrier than I thought! I don't think I've ever eaten so much in one sitting."

Severus gave a quiet smile and remarked, "It's true what they say, fresh air stimulates the appetite." He himself had finished his own portion of fish and chips.

After dinner, they went for a walk, enjoying the fresh air and each other's company. When at last they returned to the hospital, Lena remained staring down at her aunt, and suddenly a sense of futility and hopelessness overwhelmed her. "Sometimes, Severus . . . I look at her lying there and I almost wish . . . that she had died instead of being trapped forever this way . . . Am I a terrible person to wish that?"

Severus gently tugged her about so she was facing him. "Is it terrible to wish for mercy for a relative? No. I can see where you're coming from."

"I'm glad she survived, but to see her like this, day after day . . . when she was never sick or . . . anything a day in her life. She was always awake with the dawn, always busy reading or researching, learning new spells was her life, it's why she was the Society's archivist . . . Sometimes I wish I had the courage to ask for Ceridwen's Cauldron . . ."

"Even that powerful item would not work on her, Lena, because she's not dead." Severus reminded her sadly. "If there is anything I can do for you . . ."

Sudden tears spilled from her eyes at his tone. Embarrassed, she turned away, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Severus put an arm about her, and all at once she turned and put her head on his shoulder, crying softly. He held her for a long while, allowing her time to come to grips with her grief. Spent, she leaned into him for a long moment, then said, "Forgive me, I didn't mean to become a waterfall."

"My robe is waterproof," chuckled the Potions Master. "And my shoulder is always available."

She gazed at him through moist eyes, and thought how he was so adept at hiding his gentle side, hedging himself about with sarcasm and prickliness, that no one dared to look beyond the wall of thorns to see his true self. She wondered what had caused him to hide himself away like that, but doubted she would ever have the courage to ask. But she was very grateful to him for helping her. "Thank you, Severus. I'll remember that."

"Please do. Unfortunately, I must get on back to school. Skull is keeping an eye on Harry for me, but I would prefer to oversee him myself, there's no telling what mischief that boy will get into. I shall try and come back on the weekend."

"Again, thank you. I know that eventually I must return to school, I just wish things were more positive with regards to Aunt Irma. Still, one can hope." She gave a small determined smile.

"Irma is a strong witch. If anyone can recover from this, it would be her." Severus said, trying to boost Lena's spirits. That small smile tugged at his heartstrings in a way nothing had since Lily when he was young and innocent. "Good night, Lena."

She waved as he departed, Apparating back to the gates of the school. He returned to his quarters to find Harry just finishing his Transfiguration homework, and ready for another chapter of _The Jungle Books_.

"Is Madam Pince any better?"

"No, there is no change yet." Severus said. "But there is always a chance that she may recover. We must simply hope it is sooner rather than later."

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

The weekend arrived, and Severus was brewing batches of potions for the Hospital Wing, restocking certain healing cures that had run low due to the winter spate of colds and such. Harry, Neville, and Draco had volunteered to help out by gathering several magical herbs. Ron caught sight of them leaving the castle with gathering baskets over their arms and tagged along.

"Where are you lot going?"

"Nev and I volunteered to help Professor Snape and he told us to go out and gather some herbs for his potions," Harry answered, showing Ron a diagram of the plants they were supposed to harvest.

"How come you're out here so early, Malfoy?" queried the redhead. "Thought you toffs liked to sleep late on Sundays."

Draco gave Ron a look. "Shows how much you know. I'm here to make sure those two come back with the right plants, because I know what they look like. The professor knows better than to trust Longbottom completely. Or Potter either, even if he knows potions recipes."

"Brag much, Malfoy?"

"Draco's right, Ron," Neville spoke up. He'd become a lot more assertive since taking Remedial Potions. "Harry and I have never harvested these ingredients before, and a lot of plants look alike until you've seen a lot of them. I'm pretty good at Herbology, but I've never seen these particular plants before, have you?"

Ron shook his head.

"Then it's a good thing Draco's with us," Neville repeated.

The four boys quickly walked up behind Hagrid's hut, to the meadow above the castle proper, hard by the Forbidden Forest. There they found plenty of the ingredients Snape had requested. Draco showed them how to tell the difference between the magical gold heartsease plant and the common dandelion by the shape of the leaves and color of the flowers.

Harry had moved away from the others, where there were patches of tall grass in the meadow, which was what the gold heartsease liked to grow next to. He spotted a thick tussock close to the border of the forest, but far enough away that it wasn't over the boundary. As he knelt in the grass to gather a likely specimen, he spotted a flash of gold.

Parting the grass, he saw a large golden egg with fiery tongues of flame etched across it. Harry's eyes widened. He had never seen such a huge egg in his life. It seemed to sparkle from within. "Hey, Draco! Neville, Ron! Come and look at this! I found an egg!"

Neville reached him first. "Merlin, Harry! That egg, it's _huge_! Do you think it's a roc egg? I've heard they can grow as big as that."

"Roc egg?" Draco sneered. "I don't think so, Longbottom. Looks more like a dragon egg to me."

"It _is_ a dragon egg," Ron confirmed, his eyes wide. "My brother Charlie is a dragon tamer in Romania, and I've seen lots of eggs before. I think . . . I think this one might be a Chinese Fireball."

"How'd it get here?" asked Neville.

"I don't know. I just found it there." Harry said.

Ron glanced about. "Dragon eggs don't just show up anywhere. Maybe the mum's around somewhere. Or it was left here by poachers. I heard Hagrid say once that there was trouble with poachers in the forest."

Draco shrugged. "Could be. My father said that once there was a decent trade of dragon eggs on the black market."

Harry sighed. "Look, we could stand here all day and try and figure how the egg got here. What I want to know is what we're going to do with it?"

"We can't keep it," Ron said.

"Whyever not?" Neville asked. "Harry found it."

"Because of the law. It's illegal to have a dragon as a pet, has been since the Warlock's Council of 1706." Ron pointed out. "It's too hard for wizards to hide a dragon from Muggles. Plus, most dragons can't be tamed. They can bite or flame you something awful. You ought to see the scars my brother has from the wild ones at the reserve." Ron said, sounding proud.

"Well, illegal or not, we can't just leave it here," Draco argued. "Something, like a wyvern, is sure to find it and eat it before sundown."

Harry nodded. He felt the same way about the egg, and was glad Skull was not here to report back to Severus today. He had told the raven to take the afternoon off, because Draco and Neville would be with him on his potion ingredient expedition. He stared at the egg again, feeling as if he had found a priceless treasure.

"We need to find out how to take care of it till it hatches," he said. Then he looked at the plant in his hand, its flower drooping. "But first we have to take these ingredients back to Professor Snape."

"Right. Weasley, you stay here with the egg while we go to the dungeons," Draco ordered. "Once we give Professor Snape the ingredients, we're free for the afternoon and we can figure out what to do with egg then."

"Harry, maybe you can find a book in the library about dragons," Neville suggested. "Are you sure we should keep the egg? I've never . . . done anything illegal before. Won't we get in trouble?"

"Only if we're not careful and we get caught," Draco said easily. "Quit worrying, Longbottom. No one else knows about the egg but us, and I hope you have brains enough to keep your mouth shut about it."

"I won't tell anyone, Malfoy. I'm not stupid," Neville said defensively.

"Come on, you two. Let's hurry and bring these ingredient back to Uncle Severus, before he sends Skull out here to see what kept us," Harry said, picking up his basket.

"_Uncle Severus?_" Ron gaped. "You're . . . calling Snape _Uncle Severus_ now?"

"Yes. He's my guardian, remember? And I wasn't raised to call adults by their first names, so I call him Uncle Severus." Harry retorted. "Just watch the egg, Ron."

"And keep out of sight," Draco called over his shoulder. "I just hope nobody flies over there today."

"Why would they? There's nothing there for anybody to see," Harry said logically. Even so, he began to walk faster.

Once they had delivered the ingredients, Severus told them to go and amuse themselves until supper, he could finish up the brewing himself. He could tell the three boys were itching to be elsewhere, and suspected they would rather be flying or reading instead of in the lab. Little did he know what they were really up to.

Harry told Draco and Neville to go back to the meadow. "I'll catch up in a bit. I want to see if there's any book in the library I can find."

Harry took the stairs to the library rapidly, hoping that books on dragons weren't in short supply. He suddenly wished Lena and Irma were there to help him find what he needed. Then again, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that they weren't there, for surely they would be asking him why he needed a book about dragons.

He nearly bumped into Hermione as he was going into the library. "Oh, hi, Hermione. Read any good books lately?"

"I just checked out one on Numerology. Why?"

Harry made quick decision. He was going to need Hermione's help to do research. "Come in here, I have something to tell you." He dragged Hermione inside the library, to the corner where he used to study.

"You found a _dragon_ egg?" she cried.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Harry scowled. "We have to keep this a secret. If any of the professors found out, they'd take the egg away. Now, I need to find some books on dragons, how to raise them and train them. Will you help me?"

"All right. Just remember, this was your idea, Harry." Hermione sighed. "I don't know how I get involved in these things."

They separated, going to different corners of the library. Harry went to see if the Society of Ravens had any books about dragons, and Hermione went to scope out the Magical Beasts section.

Harry found a book called _Dragon Lore: Legends and Facts._ Hermione found several books, one titled _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit, Dragon Species and How to Recognize Them _and one called _From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon Keeper's Guide_. "I think these should be useful. At least we'll be able to identify what breed it is."

"Come on, let's get back to the meadow." Harry said, and after they had checked out the books, hurried outside.

Back at the meadow, Draco and Ron were arguing over whether or not the egg was from a Chinese Fireball. Ron kept insisting it was, and Draco argued it wasn't because the egg was not bright crimson with gold spots.

"You don't argue facts, Weasley."

"Well, what else could it be? No other dragon I know of has eggs that color." Ron snapped, not wanting to admit Draco was correct.

"Maybe it's a new species," Neville said.

"I doubt it. If there was a new species discovered, the papers would be full of it," Draco disagreed.

"But Draco . . . what if we're the first ones to find it?"

"Then we'd all be famous like Potter. But I doubt it. It's probably a variation or a rare species."

Harry returned with Hermione, much to Draco's dismay.

"Potter, I thought we agreed—"

"I needed Hermione's help to do research," Harry interrupted. "She can keep her mouth closed."

"Why don't we all swear an oath?" Ron suggested.

"Like an Unbreakable Vow?" squeaked Neville.

"Of course not like that! I mean a promise made on our wizard's honor to never tell anyone at school—except Hagrid—about the egg or the dragon when it hatches." Ron snorted. "All right, who's in? Put your hand atop mine and swear the most excellent promise you can make."

First Harry, then Draco, then Neville, and finally Hermione placed their hands atop each other's and swore never to reveal the dragon to anyone at school, except for Hagrid.

That done, Hermione began reading the chapter on dragon eggs in the dragon keeper's guide. "It says here that you must keep the egg warm, since a mother dragon bathes her egg daily in her flames to keep her baby from getting chilled. Also, when the dragon hatches, you should have plenty of chicken blood mixed with brandy to feed it. Yuck! That's disgusting!" she made a face. "Where are we going to get that? We'd have to . . . kill chickens or something."

"And raid Dumbledore's liquor cabinet," Draco smirked. "My father told me once that the old man likes his brandy at night, and always keeps a bottle on hand in the cabinet behind his desk."

Neville looked horrified. "We can't just . . . break into the Headmaster's office and steal from him!"

"Why don't we just ask Hagrid?" Harry said. "I'm sure he can help, he's always wanted a dragon and he drinks brandy too. And he keeps chickens too. I've helped him gather their eggs over the holiday."

"Great idea, Harry! Anybody got a cloak to cover the egg?" Ron asked.

Neville gave up his cloak so they could wrap the egg in it. "Hagrid also has a giant fireplace."

Together they took turns carrying the egg, as it was heavy and awkward. When they reached Hagrid's hut, Harry knocked on the door.

He heard Fang bark, then Hagrid opened the door.

"Hiya, Harry! Come in, it's been a long time since I've seen you." His eyes widened when he caught sight of the rest of them. "What's this, a party?"

"No, it's a conspiracy," Harry muttered. "Quick, Hagrid, let us in and we'll show you something you've always wanted."

"But first you have to swear wizard's oath not to reveal anything to anyone . . . on pain of death!" Draco said sternly.

"Now what're you kids up to?" Hagrid asked. But he swore the oath, as Harry had hoped he would.

Only then did Harry unwrap the egg in Draco's arms and show the gamekeeper their unexpected windfall.

"Crikey, Harry! That's a dragon egg! Where'd yeh get it? I've been after getting' myself a dragon egg fer years!"

"I found it in the meadow while I was gathering potion ingredients," Harry said.

"We don't know how it got there, but we had to save it," Draco added.

"We're going to need the use of your fireplace and also a mixture of brandy and chicken's blood to feed it once it hatches," Hermione told Hagrid.

"I'll help yeh any way I can," the gamekeeper said eagerly. He began clearing out a space to put the egg in the fireplace, making a mound of ashes and soot to place the egg in, then surrounding it with wood and igniting the fire to keep it warm and toasty. "There we go! Nice an' warm, jus' like its mama would do."

"Looks great, Hagrid!" Neville said, grinning.

"Now we need to find out what kind it is," Ron muttered. "Hermione, what's the book say about identifying dragon eggs?"

"Let me see . . ." she began paging through _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_.She looked at the egg, then back in the book, a perplexed frown stealing over her features.

"Well? Was I right? It's not a Chinese Fireball, is it?" demanded Draco.

"No . . . but the egg doesn't match any other description of a dragon's egg in here either. Wait . . . here's a chapter at the end on very rare breeds that are nearly extinct." She turned to the back of the book. "It says here that there once was a very rare species in Great Britain and Wales called the Pendragon species. It says that they were hunted nearly to extinction during the time of King Arthur and afterwards because bold knights wanted to slay dragons to prove their courage. And they bred but rarely, always raising their young in secluded lonely mountain tops. The inspiration for Muggle fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien's dragon Smaug in _The Hobbit_ was based upon the various descriptions and paintings of early medieval artists who used the Pendragon breed as their models."

"That's really cool! What else does it say?" asked Harry.

"Well, it says that the Pendragon kind are the most intelligent of all dragon species. Sometimes they can learn human tongues if they live long enough and can even be bargained with. They prefer, however, to avoid all contact with wizards, if possible, and be left alone. They can grow to great height and length, though no one had ever captured one. The biggest Pendragon on record was the size of a castle! They are generally a deep crimson with golden underbellies, long sail-like wings and sometimes have flame patterns upon their hides. They have been known to spit fireballs and collect treasure. They eat gold to keep their scales hard and shiny, but also enjoy venison and mutton. Their claws are venomous and that's how they bring down prey. There has never been a Pendragon baby raised in captivity. See also the legend of Merlin for more on how the Pendragon came to be."

"The legend of Merlin? What's that mean?" Ron wondered.

"Search me. I was never much good at remembrin' stories," Hagrid admitted, scratching his head.

"It could tell us more in this book," Harry said. He pulled out _Dragon Lore: Legends and Facts_. After he found the section on Merlin, he read aloud, "_And so it came to pass that young Merlin went to work for King Vortigern of the Saxons. Vortigern hired him to figure out a problem he had been having. He was trying to build a tower onto his keep, but every time the tower reached a certain height, it crumbled and fell. The stone and mortar was first rate and so were the masons. It was a mystery no one could solve. Except Merlin. Merlin had a vision, and told Vortigern to have his workers excavate beneath the tower and there they would find the cause of the collapse. So Vortigern did, and found a deep cave with water in which two young dragons, white and red, were fighting. _

_"As they watched, the red dragon slew the white one, and Merlin knew it was an omen. Vortigern's symbol was a white dragon, and the symbol of his foe, Uther Pendragon was the red dragon. The next month Vortigern met Uther's forces in battle, and was defeated, just as the red dragon defeated the white. Uther allowed the red dragon to live, and ever after those descended from it were called Pendragons. Merlin eventually became court wizard to Arthur, the greates wizard in all of Britain."_

Ron whistled. "I had forgotten about that story. So this is Merlin's dragon, the greatest dragon in all of Britain."

"And Harry found it," Neville said proudly.

"Harry might have found it, but we're all going to raise it," Draco stated firmly.

"One o' the rarest species, how about that? That's something, that is. How much longer before it hatches, Hermione?" asked Hagrid.

Hermione read through the section on Pendragons again. "It says that if the egg has the characteristic swirls of flame surrounding it that it only has a week or so more before hatching, as the flames are a sign of maturity. A young Pendragon doesn't have the flame pattern on its scales until it's fully grown. It takes fifty years for it to be fully grown."

"_Fifty years_!" Ron exclaimed in dismay. "We'll all be old geezers by then! Except you, Hermione. You'll be an old hag."

"Hey!" Hermione glared at him. "Don't call me a hag."

"It's just a name."

"Well, I don't like it."

"At least by then we'll be able to hide it better, as we'll all be out of school," Draco mused.

"I'll be sure an' tell yeh when it's close t'hatching." Hagrid said. "Hermione, can yeh leave me one o' yer books?"

"Sure. You can have them all. They're due back in three weeks." She promptly put the books on Hagrid's table. "I can't wait to see the baby when it's born. What are baby dragons called, do you know?"

Ron shook his head. "No, I never asked Charlie that question."

"They're called dragonets," Draco said authoritatively.

"Dragonets. I like that," Harry said. "Thanks, Hagrid."

"Aw, 'twas nothing, lad." Hagrid blushed. "But yer better never let Professor Snape find out. He'd be mighty angry t'know yeh've been keepin' a baby dragon in secret."

"So would Professor McGonagall," Neville shivered.

Harry quietly vowed that Severus would never find out, though he hated going behind his guardian's back like that. But what other choice did he have?

"Don't forget to turn the egg every twelve hours," Hermione reminded Hagrid, just before they all left to have supper in the hall.

That night, Severus read Harry the story of Kotek, the White Seal, and he had a strange dream about knights with bloody clubs hunting down the baby Pendragon, until he swooped down on his broom and rescued it and hid it on an island far away, where men never came. Since it wasn't a real nightmare and hadn't scared him out of his wits, he didn't bother telling Severus or Skull about it.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Over the next two weeks, all of the young dragon keepers walked down the path to Hagrid's hut every day, sometimes in pairs, other times alone. They tried to visit at different times, so no one would see a pattern and grow suspicious. Each time, it was the same. The egg was still in the fire, and Hagrid turned it every twelve hours. It was hardening nicely, though Hagrid's hut now felt like a million degrees due to the fire constantly burning on the hearth. Luckily Hagrid didn't mind.

Finally their patience was rewarded. Hagrid sent a note with Draco's eagle owl, Frost Reaver, that contained only two words. _It's hatching._ He folded the note into an Inter Office Memo, which looked like a paper airplane, and sent it on over to the Gryffindor table when no one was looking.

Harry intercepted it with blinding speed, then read the note. He pumped his fist in the air.

"What are you doing, Potter?" asked Wood curiously.

"Uh . . exercises," Harry improvised. "To make my arms stronger." He quickly tucked the note in his fist and passed it to Ron under the table.

Ron read it and he almost choked on his scrambled eggs. He handed the note to Hermione and she smiled quietly and passed it to Neville, who cried, "Oh, Merlin!" Then he blushed and muttered, "I stubbed my toe."

Ron was all for skipping Herbology and racing down to the hut right then, but Harry, Hermione, and Neville dissuaded him.

"I won't skip class, we'll get in terrible trouble and not be able to see Hagrid at all," argued Hermione.

"And I love Herbology, it's my favorite class," Neville objected.

"If I ever skipped class, Uncle Severus would skin the hide off me," Harry predicted.

"Come on, how many times in our lives will we get to see a dragon hatching?" Ron protested.

"Never, if you don't lower your voice, Weasley," Draco hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

Reluctantly, Ron gave in, and went to Herbology with the rest of them. After their lesson, they had a morning break, and they all rushed down to Hagrid's.

Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited. "Hurry! It's almost out."

The egg was no longer in the fire, but lying upon a bed of straw on the table. It was rocking back and forth violently and a sharp tapping sound came from it. Huge cracks spiderwebbed the shell.

Everyone drew chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath as the egg almost flipped over. Suddenly there was a loud scraping noise and the egg split open.

The dragonet tumbled out onto the table, its wings wet from the egg fluids. It was a rusty red color and its underbelly and chest was a pale gold. It had small gold nubs on its head that would later grow into golden horns, and a long narrow snout with a tiny golden tooth on the end—an egg tooth that would later fall off as the dragon didn't need it once it had broken through the egg. It had small ridges along its back and neck and needle-sharp claws that were blunted by a strong clear membrane, so it could not inadvertently scratch itself and poison itself. The venom sacs in its claws weren't at full potency, but even so a scratch could make a person very ill. And the Pendragon young were not immune to their own venom, such only came later. It was about the size of a five-month-old collie puppy.

The dragonet slowly uncurled itself from its ball, its tail waving wildly, and large amber eyes staring round curiously. It opened its mouth and gave a sharp cry, and then burped. A tiny gout of flame shot out.

"Uh oh! It breathes fire already?" Hermione cried.

"Only a little. They don't do more than that for a long while yet," Hagrid reassured her. "Isn't he beautiful?"

"Hagrid, _he's_ a _she_," Harry corrected. "My book said you can tell female from male by the frills on either side of the head—a female has them and a male doesn't. The dragonet does," He pointed to two crumpled leathery looking things on either side of the baby's head.

"Aww, it's a baby girl! How sweet!" Hermione crooned, gazing at the dragonet with misty eyes.

The dragonet lifted her eyes to Hermione and gave a soft cry. "Meep! Meep!"

"I'd say she's hungry," Draco said. "Where's her food, Hagrid?"

Hagrid indicated the steaming pail of chicken's blood and brandy beside the hearth. Draco got a ladle from Hagrid's cooking pot, where some kind of stew was simmering, and scooped some of the dragonet formula into a bowl.

He brought it to the table and set it in front of the baby dragon. "Here, little thing. Supper!"

The dragonet meeped again, the n stuck her head into the bowl, slurping greedily. In a matter of minutes she had finished the bowl, burped, and looked for more. Draco obligingly got her another bowl, and then another.

"How much can she eat?" Ron wondered. The dragonet's belly was starting to look like a bowling ball.

"Looks like as much as you, Ron,' Neville snickered. "Maybe we ought to call her Greedy Guts?"

The dragonet consumed a fourth bowl while they all discussed what to name her.

"How about Fiery Queen?" suggested Ron. "Her scales look like fire and she's like a queen of dragons."

"Not bad, but . . . what about something more . . . regal sounding?" Draco looked thoughtful. "Like Aurae Regina?"

"Huh? What's that mean in English?" asked Ron.

"Golden Queen," replied Harry.

Draco looked impressed. "Where'd you learn Latin, Potter?"

"Uncle Severus' been teaching me some on the weekends. He said it's important to know Latin in order to cast spells correctly." Harry replied. He reached out a hand cautiously to scratch the baby dragon behind the horn nubs.

The little dragon made soft contented noise and leaned into his hand. Draco and Ron's names for her weren't bad, but Harry felt they lacked a certain sense of historical significance. "What about calling her Guinevere, after King Arthur's wife? Or Nimue, after Merlin's apprentice?"

"That's a good idea, Harry, but Guinevere betrayed Arthur in some of the legends, and so did Nimue," Hermione reminded him. "We don't really want that kind of reputation for her, now do we? What about Viviane? She was the Lady of the Lake, an enchantress who forged Excalibur and later gifted it to Arthur along with a magical scabbard that healed all wounds. We could call her Viv for short."

"Viv." Ron said, trying it out. "Sounds good to me."

"Yes, that's a name fit for a queen," agreed Draco.

"It sounds pretty and regal," Neville nodded.

"What do you think, pretty girl?" asked Harry. "Do you like being called Viviane?"

The dragonet raised her head and looked at him. Then she hiccupped.

Everyone giggled at the comical expression on the dragonet's face.

Then she waddled over to Harry and swiped his cheek with her long green tongue.

"Ugh! Dragon breath!" Harry grimaced. Hagrid handed him a cloth to wipe his face. "I guess she agrees. Viviane it is."

The dragonet abruptly sat down, groomed her front feet with her tongue, which had tiny little barbs like a cat's tongue, then walked over to the fragments of her shell, pawed them off the straw, and curled up in it, wrapping her tail about her snout. Within moments, she was snoring softly.

"Rock-a-bye baby!" hummed Hermione, and stroked the soft hide. "Poor thing's all tired out."

"Well, sure. It's tough being born," Neville said.

"Her scales are soft like butter," Hermione observed.

"They'll harden as she grows older," predicted Hagrid. "Till then I'll need to oil them to keep 'em soft and prevent 'em from cracking."

"She's the most incredible dragonet ever!" Ron stated proudly.

"And she's all ours," said Harry.

All five children looked at one another, bound by the common interests of adoration, pride, and a secret shared.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

By the time a week had passed, Viviane had nearly doubled in length and weight. She was drinking a full bucket of dragon formula every day and had begun to stay up longer than a few hours. She followed Hagrid about like a puppy, making odd little meeping and half-growling noises. Smoke was trickling from her nostrils and she regularly left holes in the wall of the hut, because she and Fang played tag across the kitchen and Viv tended to trip over her wings, which dragged on the floor, or her tail, and crash land into the wall. Her claws left scratches all over the floor as well.

Once she got a claw caught in her wing membrane and tore it. She screamed so loud that some students thought there was a banshee in the castle. Hagrid sent Draco a note asking for some of Snape's Dittany Salve using a school owl. Not long after, Draco came knocking on the door of Severus' quarters. Luckily Harry was there and Severus was not, having gone to visit Irma at St. Mungos. Harry quickly retrieved the jar and followed Draco down to the hut, where the three performed minor surgery on the dragonet.

Hagrid had gotten the dragonet very drunk on Firkin's Firewhiskey. Hagrid held her still, the torn wing outstretched on the table, while Draco smeared the membrane with a bit of ointment. Then Harry picked up a sharp steel needle and some fine cotton thread, Hagrid did most of his own mending, and sewed the tear together. Viv was so drunk she barely felt it, and then Harry rubbed on more Dittany Salve and bound the wing with strips of linen so she couldn't damage it while it healed.

Viv slept all the next day, then woke her usual rambunctious curious self.

They soon discovered that the baby Pendragon was very smart and into everything. Hagrid couldn't leave her alone for a moment. She tore apart his socks and boots, ate the legs off his kitchen table, and dug a hole in his mattress.

Draco was appalled. "Hagrid, you can't let her get away with that! She needs to be taught manners."

"Aw, she's a baby. She don' know any better," Hagrid said with a sheepish grin. " 'Sides, I needed some new furniture."

"That's not the point. If you don't teach her now, she'll be a menace." He jerked his shoe away from Viv's questing nose. "No! Bad dragon!" He shook his finger at her. "No chewing shoes!"

Viviane looked up at him. "Meep?"

"That's right. No shoes! Shoes . . . bad!" Draco picked up a rubber chicken and handed it to her. "Toys . . . good!" He patted her.

Viv shook the toy chicken, growling. Then she dropped it to pounce on Fang. "Meep!"

Fang barked and bolted across the room, Viv in hot pursuit. The whole hut shook as the dragonet chased the boarhound.

Draco gulped in alarm. "Hagrid, what if somebody hears her?"

"Ah, well, I tol' Professor Sprout n'Dumbledore I was teachin' Fang to fetch and I'm clumsy sometimes, t jus' ignore any loud bangs."

Draco eyed Viv uneasily. "How much more is she going to grow? You're running out of room in here."

Hagrid shrugged. "I dunno. Guess we'll find out."

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Two weeks later, Viviane was the half the size of Fang, almost, and eating a gallon of formula a day. Her wing had healed and she was starting to try and flap them.

Hermione asked, "Will she try and fly soon?"

"Naw. They gotta be taught that by their mama," Hagrid said.

"But Hagrid, we're like her mama," objected Neville.

"Then I guess it's up to Harry and Draco to teach her how to fly once she's big enough," Hermione pointed out. "It's a good thing we have brooms."

Hermione discovered that Viv was very smart, she learned faster than a German shepherd, and Hermione had taught her several commands, such as, "Come, stay, go to sleep, up, and no biting!"

The dragonet loved being oiled and Hermione was usually around to assist Hagrid, she had bought a large bottle of rosewood oil and took great pride in rubbing Viv's scales till they shone glittering gold and bright crimson. The dragonet had already shed her scales twice since hatching, and Hagrid saved them in a jar, for dragon scales were valuable potion ingredient, and he needed more money to feed Viviane, since she ate like ten horses.

By the third week, Viviane was eating more solid food. Hagrid fed her a mash of chicken blood, brandy, and ground venison. The dragonet would gorge herself until sated, then fall over in a heap on the floor. Fang often slept beside her, and Neville enjoyed giving her tummy a rub. Viv loved that, and would make crooning noises while he scratched her belly, her wings flopped to either side like a drunken angel's.

She was naturally a clean animal, and Harry and his friends helped to housebreak her. But soon Viv grew bold enough to explore the backyard, and one evening she ran away, and spent hours eluding Hagrid, Fang, and the team of young keepers. When they finally caught her, Harry and Draco scolded her sternly and put an iron collar and chain on her, fastening it to a ring inside the hut.

Viv screeched and fought the restraint, furious. Jets of flame spat from her mouth, nearly setting the floor on fire.

Ron stared at her and whispered, "She can't keep doing this. Someone's gonna see her and then what? We have to . . . bring her somewhere she has room to grown and run about."

"She can't stay locked up here forever," Hermione agreed sadly. "She's miserable, and soon she'll outgrow the collar and chain and pull the walls of the hut down around your ears, Hagrid."

"But we can't just abandon her, Hermione!" protested Harry. "She's too little to put in the forest. She'll die."

"She can't hunt for herself yet," Draco pointed out. "She's still dependant on us. She's our responsibility, how can we just give her up? I won't do it."

"Me neither," agreed Neville. "We'll just have to figure out a way for her to get some exercise at night."

But though they tried, it was fast becoming apparent that Viviane would soon outgrow her home and they had no safe place to put her where she wouldn't be prey for bigger magical creatures or be seen by those at Hogwarts. The night she tore the chain out of the wall and busted through Hagrid's front door was the last straw.

It took all five of them to catch her and repair the hole in the wall and Hagrid's door before curfew, and they all sported teeth marks and strained muscles before they were done.

In contrast, the dragonet regarded it as a fun game, and looked fresh as a daisy when they finally coaxed her back into the hut with a deer carcass to gnaw on.

The next morning Justin Finch Fletchley startled them all by announcing he had seen a strange beast roaming about near Hagrid's hut, and Dumbledore said he would ask Hagrid to make sure it was gone before allowing any students near his home.

"That does it!" Ron hissed to Harry and Neville. "She has to go. We can't control her anymore, and sooner or later someone other than that dolt Justin's going to see her for what she is and there goes Hagrid."

"But where can she go where she'll be safe?" Harry grumbled irritably. "We can't just dump her somewhere like a stray dog, Ron!" His heart was aching at the thought of losing the dragonet, for when she wasn't being destructive, Viv could be very sweet and funny. Harry loved her and didn't want to let her go.

Neither did Draco, but he too could see the wisdom in Ron's decision. Still, he wanted to try some Concealment Charms first.

That was when they discovered that Pendragons were magic resistant. Ron finally managed to convince Draco to let him contact Charlie in Romania. Harry fought to the bitter end, but gave in when Skull flew over the hut one afternoon and asked why there was so much smoke coming from the chimney and what sort of creature did Hagrid keep inside there.

Harry knew that Skullduggery would soon discover the truth, for there was nothing like a raven for ferreting out secrets. Reluctantly, he agreed to let Ron write Charlie.

Charlie sent a reply back a few days later, asking that they meet his friends at the top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight. His friends would take the rare dragonet with them and raise it on the reserve, she would be like a dragon celebrity and receive the best of care. The pick-up was scheduled for the following night, when there would be a full moon.

Hermione wept as she oiled the dragonet for the last time, and Viv made sad meeping noises and licked the tears from her cheeks. "I'll miss you, baby. So much. But you have to go, so you'll grow up safe. I'll never forget you!" She kissed Viv atop her scaly head, inbetween her nubs of horns.

Hagrid too shed tears when it came time for Viviane to leave, he fed her his special lamb stew with Firkin's and gave the dragonet her favorite stuffed boar to chew on, as well as his old leather boot. She had never managed to stop chewing on boots. He wrapped her in a large baby sling, and all four boys took turns carrying her in it. They all would miss Viv dreadfully, but tried not to let it show.

Fang howled mournfully when they left, which made Viv wail rather like a baby.

"Shhh!" Draco clamped a hand over her snout. "Quiet!"

"Draco, you're hurting her," cried Neville, as Viv made little muffled yelps.

"Longbottom, if she gives us away, we're finished. My Notice Me Not charm won't hold up with her sobbing like a baby."

Harry suddenly wished for his invisibility cloak. But Severus had locked it away and Harry knew he'd be in deep trouble if he ever took back the cloak and used it to sneak out of bed, which was just the sort of thing Severus had forbidden him to do with it. No, better that it stayed where it was, Harry didn't want to die before he was seventeen.

They crept soundlessly up the stairs to the top of the Astronomy Tower, leaving Hermione at the bottom to be the lookout. She said she couldn't bear to see Viv taken away, even if it was for the best. So Neville, Draco, Harry, and Ron waited atop the Astronomy Tower for Charlie's friends to appear.

Minutes crept by. Ron checked his watch.

"Do you think they forgot the time?" whispered Harry.

"No. How could they?"

"Because they're late. It's ten past midnight," Draco muttered.

They waited and waited. Viv grew restless and gnawed on her boot, then grew bored and gnawed on Ron's knuckle.

"Oww!" he yelped. "Stupid dragon! Here, Nev, you take her." he handed the sling wrapped dragonet to Neville, then sucked on his bleeding hand.

Still no sign of the dragon keepers.

Draco peered across the sky, the moon was bright so he could see clearly. "Hey, Weasley, I think I see them. Look! See that big shadow coming towards us?"

Harry squinted, even with his eyesight he could see the dragon-shaped shadow approaching. "That's odd. What were they supposed to show up in again?"

"Some kind of chariot, I think," answered Ron.

"A dragon shaped one?" guessed Draco. "That was clever of them."

Ron peered hard at the huge shadow cruising towards them. "Err . . . Malfoy, I don't think that's a chariot. It looks more like a . . ._dragon!_"

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley. No dragon could be that big, and they wouldn't risk riding one here tonight. They're trying to keep a low profile."

"Oh, yeah? Then what do you call _that_?" Ron screamed.

Suddenly a humungous shape swooped down upon them from the sky.

It wasn't just a dragon, but a giant enraged Pendragon female.

Viv's mother had finally found her stolen baby and come to get her back from the thieves who had taken her away.

She descended upon the four petrified boys like a hurricane, her wings churning up great clouds of dust, her head was the size of Hagrid's entire hut, and she roared in rage upon seeing her baby in the hands of humans. There was a great distrust of humans by Pendragons, considering the harm human knights had done to them in the past. The great mother dragon had been searching for her missing egg for weeks, and had finally tracked the thief, or thieves, to Hogwarts. Now she could be reunited with her baby . . . after she punished those who had stolen her precious dragonet.

Harry backed away, screaming in terror. The mama Pendragon was even bigger than he thought, the size of a jet, and her scales were brilliant crimson and gold, with fiery swirls about her haunches and sides that glistened in the pale moonlight. Her green eyes were the size of flying saucers and her teeth were like swords, bared and ready to tear him to shreds.

_Oh, shit! Severus, help!_ He thought frantically, while backing away.

Ron was screaming, "Merlin's bloody arse! Run!"

Draco was staring at the huge dragon, mesmerized. "So beautiful . . . and so deadly."

"Malfoy, move your arse!" Ron shrieked. "Before she eats you!"

Neville screamed as Viv dug her talons into his thigh as she sprang forward, lurching out of the sling. She was howling loudly as she caught sight of her mother. "No! Come back!" Neville cried, grabbing the struggling dragonet by the tail and pulling her backwards. He had to throw himself on the baby dragon to keep her from running off the edge of the tower.

Viv fought, scrabbling her claws on the stone and wailing, trying to flap her wings. She nipped Neville's fingers, which were clutching her about the neck.

"Ahh!" Neville yelled, but refused to let go.

Mama Pendragon let out another terrible roar and her head dove down towards Draco, fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

Harry tackled the other boy, sending them skidding across the top of the tower.

The mother dragon's teeth cracked the stone where Draco had stood moments before, ripping out several chunks. The stone crumbled under the assault and fell over forty feet to land on the ground.

Ron was shaking and crying. "I don't wanna die! Harry, what do we do?"

Harry sprang to his feet, his mind working frantically. He was terrified too, of all the possible outcomes of this night, he never would have expected this. He kept wishing that Severus or Skull was there, for they would know how to handle the enraged mother dragon.

"Ron, get to the stairs! We need help!"

The mama dragon was now hovering in the air, above the tower, her eyes glittering, her wings blotting out the stars.

Harry had his wand out, and was casting a Summoning Charm.

Behind him, Draco was praying.

Neville had almost squashed Viv flat, and the dragonet was squeaking indignantly.

A black streak darted in, and Skullduggery screeched, "Yo, Mama! Leave those kids alone!"

The Pendragon female turned her gaze to the annoying ball of feathers and gave a low rumble of warning.

Skullduggery puffed up his feathers, his head crest rising. "I don't know who stole your baby, Mama, but you aren't going to kill anybody on _my _watch."

"Skull! Get Uncle Severus!" Harry yelled.

"On my way, _bran-boy_! Get off the tower! Leave the damn baby and run!"

The raven made several darting sorties at the great dragon's eyes, making the behemoth lower her head and fly a little bit away from the tower, for the raven's beak was super sharp and could hurt very badly if it landed a blow in her eyes. Skullduggery dodged her return snap, flying around her and through the stairway, a midnight streak heading to the dungeons to fetch Snape.

Hermione, shivering in the stairwell, saw Skull speed past and yelled, "Skull, what's going on up there?"

"Trouble!" the raven cawed, and kept right on flying.

Hermione looked back up the stairs, biting her lip. She was trying to make up her mind whether or not to go and help her friends when a claw-like hand closed over her shoulder.

"Trouble indeed, missy!" cackled Filch. "And you're out of bed!"

"Please, sir!" Hermione cried, terrified both for her friends and because she was sure to get detention now.

"Come along, girl. You're going straight to McGonagall's office and we'll see what she has to say about you wandering about in the dead of night!" He began to drag Hermione away.

"Please, Mr. Filch! You can't leave, my friends are in terrible danger . . ."

"Oh, they're gonna be in danger all right, when McGonagall gets through with them," Filch sneered, and ignored Hermione's protests and hauled her off down the corridor.

The tower shook as Mama Pendragon stamped her huge foot atop the stone crenellations, crumbling them into dust. She was determined to make the thieves pay for their audacity and no annoying raven was going to convince her otherwise.

Harry's broom smacked into his palm, and he mounted it faster than he ever had before. Using every bit of speed the Nimbus possessed, he shot into the sky, hovering just in front of the mother dragon's eyes, above the gaping snout with the sword-like teeth and five foot long purple tongue. He didn't understand why she hadn't breathed on them yet, for surely she was furious enough to do so.

Then he looked down at his friends and the struggling Neville atop the tower and realized that she had held back her flame so as not to injure her baby. And then Harry knew that they had to hang on to Viviane at all costs. "Keep hold of her, Nev!" he called to his friend, then he slingshot about Mama's head, whooping like Mowgli.

"Is he _CRAZY?"_ Ron cried.

"He's a Gryffindor, what do you expect?" Draco answered, picking himself up and backing away. "You're all insane!"

"What the bloody hell is he _doing?"_ Ron gasped as Harry made several strafing runs at the great dragon, trying to draw the beast away from the tower.

"Committing suicide?" Draco snarled. "Do I look like a Seer, Weasley?"

Mama dragon swung her head about, missing Harry's Nimbus by mere inches. She roared in frustration.

Harry fired off a Stinging Hex and it landed in her nostrils causing her to shake her head irritably. Then he soared across the sky, taunting her.

She spun and went after him.

"The bloody idiot! He's going to get killed!" Draco swore.

"We have to help him," Ron panted.

"You're seven kinds of a retard, Weasley, you know that?" the Slytherin snarled. Then he added, "And so am I." He waved his wand and Summoned his own broom.

Ron did also, and then the two were airborne and streaking towards the red dragon. "I must be losing my mind! I don't know how to fight a dragon!"

"Just play Quidditch, Weasley," Draco yelled, and shot some fiery projectiles at the Pendragon. They fizzled and bounced off of her hide, but annoyed her so she quit chasing Harry and brought her head about to snap at him instead.

"Play Quidditch? Has he gone round the bend?" Ron moaned. "I feel like a pesky fly and she's the fly swatter. Oh, Merlin! Where the hell are you, Charlie?" He brought his broom up in a tight turn.

Draco pulled up sharply, avoiding the chomping fangs by a millimeter. "Weasley! A distraction would be good right now!" he cut to the right, and was nearly blown off his broom by the sweep of one great wing.

Ron arced up inbetween the huge forefeet, each talon glistening with green fluid. A distraction? Ron could hardly think straight.

"Booga! Booga! Booga!" He yelled as loud as he could, then he cast a Sneezing Hex at the dragon, it being the only hex he could recall from Defense lessons with Snape.

For an instant nothing happened.

Then Mama's nose began to twitch.

She inhaled, huffing and gasping, shaking her head frantically.

Ron backed up, trying to get out of the way.

But he wasn't quite fast enough.

Mama sneezed, and the resultant blast of air mixed with green snot cascaded over Ron, sending him head over heels, five feet backwards to crash into the top of the tower.

Ron landed spread-eagled on the ground, almost hitting Neville. He groaned and lay still for a long moment.

"Ron? Are you . . . dead?" Neville sniffled.

"Yuck! Dragon bogies!" Ron sat up, gazing at himself in dismay, for he was covered in noxious green slime as well as being bruised and scraped. "Why me?"

Meanwhile, students were crying and screaming in a panic in Ravenclaw Tower and Gryffindor Tower, as they could feel the awful aftershocks of the battle atop the tower. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Dumbledore had their hands full trying to stave off a panic, and so Filch was largely ignored when he dragged Hermione in through the portrait hole.

Skullduggery was flying like a bat out of hell, and in his wake came the Potions Master, wand out and running like the Grim Reaper up the stairs to the seventh floor and then to the Astronomy Tower, cursing Dumbledore's Anti-Apparition wards with each footfall.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry flew right into the red dragon's face, throwing a handful of crumbled biscuit crumbs into her eyes, they were what he had in his pocket when he reached in to try and find something that might help him avoid becoming dragon chow. Biscuit crumbs weren't much of a weapon, but they were all he had.

Mama shook her head, trying to get the grit out her eyes.

"Here, you great lump of lard!" taunted Harry. "Come and get me you dumb piece of crap! Dragons are superior to wizards my ass!"

He then turned and accelerated, flying in a great loop across the grounds.

Mama snarled and turned, seeking her tormentor.

Then she felt something sting her flank as Draco tried to use a Bone Break Curse on her. But the spell was absorbed by her innate magic resistance, which recognized it as a threat. As she turned, her tail lashed out, striking Draco's broom with the tip.

Draco found himself tumbling across the sky, his broom flipping end over end uncontrollably.

Harry saw Draco falling and his heart leaped into his throat. Without stopping to think, he shot diagonally across the sky, passing by the dragon in a blur, diving as fast as he could.

He managed, through sheer nerve and inborn skill, to pull up just beneath the Slytherin, catching the back of Draco's robe and part of his arm as he fell.

The recoil nearly yanked him off his broom. But he managed to speak the one word of a Featherlight Charm before losing his grip on the other boy, touching Draco with his wand tip as he did so.

Draco drifted through the air, screaming, before Harry maneuvered his broom beneath him and caught him. "Potter, flaming hells!"

"Relax, Draco. I've got you," Harry said, grabbing Draco and pulling him onto the Nimbus. "You're easier to catch than the Snitch."

"Potter, you're insane!" Draco gasped. "But you just saved my life, so I'll forgive you. Where the hell did you learn to fly like that?"

"I just did what came naturally, Malfoy. That's why I'm the youngest Seeker in a century," Harry replied with a touch of insolence. Actually his heart was pounding just as much as Malfoy's.

"Uh oh, she's coming about for another pass," Draco muttered.

"You all right?" Harry panted.

"Yeah, I just have whiplash from her tail," answered the Slytherin. "And my nose is bleeding. I think I hit it on my broom." He held the sleeve of his robe to it.

"Great! Look, I'm going to try and set you back on the tower as quick as I can. You get Ron and Neville and tell them to get their arses out of here."

"What about you?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't worry about me." He soared up towards the Astronomy Tower, trying to get there before the red dragon. "It's a good day to die."

He grabbed Draco by the back of his robe and set him on the tower then streaked off.

"Bloody mad Gryffindor! No wonder the good die young!" Draco shook his head, then staggered towards the stairwell, just as Skullduggery emerged from it, followed by Severus.

Severus took everything in at a glance, his battle-honed reflexes notcing everything, including the apparent death wish his ward had, playing cat and mouse with an enraged red dragon out of legend. In a flash he had grabbed Neville by the back of his collar, pulling him off the shrieking dragonet. "Longbottom! Get inside, hurry! You too, Weasley! Get to the bottom of the stairs and wait for me. Move!"

Neville, scratched and bleeding, obeyed without argument. He didn't know what he was more afraid of—the dragon or his potions professor.

Ron obeyed as well, though he did yell, "Professor, you have to help Harry!" before he went down the stairs.

"Tell me something I don't know, Weasley," the other scowled. "Malfoy! What are you waiting for, a personal invitation in gold script. Follow them and wait for me!"

Draco too ran as fast as he could across the tower, wishing he could see the outcome of the fight.

Viv scurried across the stones, crying pitifully for the mother she hardly remembered. Severus reached out and grabbed the trailing end of the sling, and hauled her back from throwing herself off the tower. "No, you don't! You're staying right here." he wrestled the dragonet back by brute force, grunting with the effort. "Stay, dammit!" Viv obeyed, crouching down by his boots, whimpering. "Skullduggery, it's time to open negotiations! Tell her I'll call a truce if she stops trying to roast Harry."

For the mama Pendragon was now breathing fire, in bright balls of fire, that scorched across Harry's path, forcing him to climb rapidly, his hands seared by the fire's radiating heat, though he dodged the full force of the flame.

"Oi, Mrs. Hot and Toasty!" Skullduggery cried in Ravenspeak. "My master has your baby, and wants to cut a deal with you. Are you willing to listen, or do you want your darling to become potion ingredients?"

The dragon halted, and snarled, "What are you yammering on about, you black crow?"

"That's raven, Fire Queen! We'll trade you—your dragonet, unharmed, for my wizard's crazy ward. He's rather fond of the lad and wants him back without being barbecued."

"He stole my egg!"

"What do you care, as long as you get your baby back?"

"He deserves to be punished!" snarled the dragon.

"Don't worry, Big Mama. Sev's going to light a fire under his ass, sure enough. Leave the punishment to him, he's the best at it in the school." Skullduggery persuaded. "Besides, your baby doesn't look any worse for wear to me. And that's the important thing, right?"

The dragon was silent for a long moment. Finally she tossed her massive head and sighed. "Oh, very well. Take the pesky little gnat and beat some manners into him."

"Do you swear not to take revenge on him or his friends, O Mistress of Fire and Poison?"

"Yes, I so swear! Now give me my dragonet."

"Sev! Let her go, Red's agreed to the terms!" Skull cawed. "Harry! Get off your broom and onto the tower, double quick!"

Harry did as he was told, he couldn't understand the dragon's replies to Skull, but guessed enough that the raven had called a truce.

As his ward landed atop the tower, Severus released Viviane.

The dragonet ran across the floor, meeping hysterically, and was swept up in one large forefoot. Mama nuzzled her baby lovingly, reunited at last with her daughter. She bowed her head respectfully to Severus and glared warningly at Harry before turning and flying away, Viv cradled close to her chest.

Harry watched until the red dragon was out of sight, muttering a thank you to whatever guardian angel had been watching over him. Then he turned slowly, met the furious gaze of Severus Snape, and prayed he survived the Potion Master's wrath. He thought he might have had better luck with the dragon.

**A/N: This is my longest chapter yet for this story. What do you think Severus will do to Harry and the others? How did you like this chapter? Was it your favorite one so far? A sincere thanks to jlbrew26 and etherian for their encouragement and ideas.**


	22. A Breach of Trust

**22**

**A Breach of Trust**

Severus felt an enormous migraine coming on as he gazed furiously at his wayward ward, who seemed determined to drive him to insanity with his recklessness and disobedience. He carefully pinched the bridge of his nose and began to recite several potion recipes in his head, struggling to control his hair-trigger temper. Never had he felt so close to the edge of his control, so prone to lashing out at the messy-haired young daredevil who stood before him, giving him a rather lopsided guilty half-smile. Severus was torn between grabbing Harry and squeezing him to death and grabbing him and tanning his backside. That he did neither was a testament to his hard-won control over his emotions. Instead, he allowed his stance and the volcanic expression in his eyes to speak for his current emotional state.

Harry flinched. "Um sir? .err . . ."

"Mr. Potter," began the Potions Master, in a very tightly controlled voice. "I would suggest that you close your mouth and join your classmates at the bottom of the staircase at once. You are in violation of several school rules, not to mention my own personal rules as well. Move!"

Harry shut his mouth with a snap and did as he was told, hurrying past the fuming professor and down the stairs.

Severus billowed after him, still reciting recipes. Skull was perched upon his shoulder, and for once the raven had no cheeky comments to make. Perhaps he sensed how close to the edge his wizard was and figured silence was the better part of valor.

Harry found Ron, Neville, and Draco all waiting at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower, each of them looked very apprehensive and Neville looked close to passing out. Before he could say anything to them, the professor had approached and said frostily, "You will all accompany me to the Headmaster's office."

The boys gulped and exchanged horrified glances. But they followed the Head of Slytherin without protest.

"Merlin, I think we're gonna be expelled!" Ron moaned very quietly. "My mum's gonna kill me!"

"Quiet!" Severus snapped harshly.

Ron clamped his mouth shut.

Harry wondered where Hermione was, if she had managed to escape Snape's eagle eye. He hoped so. He already felt guilty about involving Neville, Ron, and even Draco in his dragon returning scheme. He was afraid to even think about what might happen to him now. This was even worse than the time he and Malfoy had dueled in the dungeon corridor.

Ron was trying frantically to come up with a plausible reason why they had all been on top of the Astronomy Tower, out of bed, with a baby Pendragon. But he could not manage to come up with any sort of excuse that made the least bit of sense, and his nerves were shot after what had gone on that night. He had come close to being a dragon's chew toy, and the only thing he could think about—besides the wrath of Molly—was that something had happened to Charlie's friends. He hoped they hadn't met up with the mother Pendragon and that had been why they were late arriving.

Draco was trembling inwardly, hoping that the Headmaster took pity on them and didn't put the escapade on their permanent record. He didn't think Dumbledore would expel them, though he did fear that his Head would inform his mother of this latest transgression and this time Narcissa might even tell Lucius. He was almost certain that Severus would, once the Headmaster was through with them, take him into his office for a session with the paddle. He shuddered, not even wanting to think about it, but unable to stop.

Neville was whiter than a sheet and trembling at the mere thought of what the Headmaster, McGonagall, and his Gran Augusta would say or do. He could never recall being in this much trouble before, and prayed that one of the adults was merciful. He knew better than to hope that Professor Snape would be, not for something as major as this. The man looked like he wanted to breathe fire like the Pendragon, and at any moment, Neville expected to see rivulets of smoke drift from his nostrils.

Upon reaching the gargoyle statue, Snape hissed the password and they all took the revolving stairs to Dumbledore's office. Once inside, Severus ordered them all to stand in front of the Headmaster's desk.

They all shuffled into line, feeling like prisoners about to get sentenced, and Severus stood behind them with his arms crossed, radiating disapproval. "Skullduggery, will you please find Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, and tell them to meet me here?"

"At once, sir!" croaked the raven, bobbing his head in a gesture of respect before flying off the Potion Master's shoulder and out the partially opened window.

Skullduggery knew he could re-enter the castle through the Owlery window, and so find the two professors that way.

A pregnant silence descended upon the office, broken only by the soft ticking of Dumbledore's ancient wall clock and the snores of some of the former Headmasters' portraits.

Harry fought to keep still, he knew that his guardian was probably wishing he had never laid eyes on him, or agreed to look out for him, and he locked his knees together to keep them from shaking. He feared he wouldn't live to see twelve and wished that the other professors would hurry up and get there already. What was taking them so long?

Several moments of eternity later, the office door opened to admit Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, with Hermione in tow, Skull flying like a harbinger of doom over her head. Dumbledore's ever present twinkle was absent from his eyes and he looked very solemn and sorrowful. McGonagall looked quite angry and stern. Hermione looked scared to death.

Severus raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of Hermione. "You too, Miss Granger?"

"Filch found her at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower and brought her back to Gryffindor Tower just before all hell broke loose," Minerva informed her colleague. "When I questioned her, she admitted to aiding these miscreants." She pointed and said, "You may join your classmates, Granger."

Hermione, her head hanging, walked over to join the others. Harry thought he caught the shimmer of tears on her lashes.

Harry couldn't blame her for crying. He would have shed a few tears too, but he didn't want the others to think he was a crybaby coward or anything.

Once they were all presented, the Headmaster said, with a sigh of disappointment, "It has come to my attention that all of you were out of bed tonight, and all save Hermione risked your lives on top of the Astronomy Tower attempting to fight an enraged mother Pendragon. Would you care to explain how this came about?" Dumbledore turned and looked at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco swallowed hard. "Sir, it's complicated . . ."

"Breaking rules often are," put in Severus sarcastically.

"It was my fault," Harry spoke up, determined to not to let his friends—and despite everything Draco was now his friend—take the blame for him. "I found a dragon egg and decided t keep it."

"You _found_ a Pendragon egg?" Dumbledore repeated. "They are the rarest of species. Where did you find it?"

"Near the Forbidden Forest." Harry murmured.

"I wasn't all Harry's fault," Neville said, his voice squeaking. "We all of us agreed to help him raise it."

"Is that true?" Dumbledore queried, and was met by the other four children nodding.

"How in Merlin's name did you know how to raise a dragon, Potter?" frowned Minerva.

"We read some books from the library," Hermione explained.

"Naturally," Severus scowled, though ordinarily he would have been proud of his ward's research abilities. "What were you all doing out of bed at midnight atop the Astronomy Tower? Teaching the dragonet how to fly?"

"Uh, sort of." Harry hedged. "We weren't expecting the mama dragon to find Viv that way."

"Viv?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"That's what we named her, sir. Viviane, after the Lady of the Lake," Ron informed him. "It was Hermione's idea."

"Viviane, that's a good name," The Headmaster chuckled, horrifying his two professors. Both of them glared pointedly at him. "A baby Pendragon, of all things! Oh, wel are you all aware that raising a dragon is against Ministry Law?" he attempted to sound stern again, though he didn't quite manage it.

All of them looked down at their feet.

"I know Mr. Malfoy is," Severus said, his voice silky with disapproval. "He's made a study of dragons."

"And you know better as well, Ronald Weasley," McGonagall snapped. "Your older brother Charlie is a dragon tamer. What on earth were all of you _thinking_?"

"That a baby dragon would make a cool pet," Skullduggery replied, sounding like a small child.

"Undoubtedly," growled Severus. "I highly suspect none of you ever thought about what might happen if the mother of your dragonet returned suddenly, now did you?"

"No, sir." Hermione whispered.

"We thought the mother must be dead," Neville added.

"Killed by poachers, because otherwise the egg wouldn't have just been left there," Draco stated.

"We couldn't just leave it to be eaten b by something," Harry defended.

"Then why did you not contact a teacher, Potter?" demanded Minerva.

"Because we knew you'd never let us keep her," he admitted softly.

"And rightly so! Do you know that you could have _died_ tonight—all of you and not only you, but your classmates in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Tower as well! That dragon could have brought the castle crashing down around our heads!" scolded the Deputy Headmistress sharply.

"You all behaved extremely foolishly, like a pack of brainless sheep!" Severus declared furiously. "When the mother dragon came here, why did you not call for help? Why did you attempt to fight her, Misters Potter and Malfoy?"

" There wasn't time . . ." began Harry lamely.

"She attacked us so fast all we had time to do was Summon our brooms, sir," Draco told his professor.

"It never occurred to you geniuses to leave the baby atop the tower and go back inside?" sneered the Potions Master.

"We weren't sure if the big dragon would hurt Viv," Ron said.

Both McGonagall and Severus shook their heads in disgust.

"So, not only do you harbor an endangered species illegally, you nearly get roasted by a dragon, and are out of bed as well. It is clear to me that you are irresponsible and reckless, not to mention disobedient." Severus continued.

"Are you going to expel us, sir?" quivered Neville.

Before Severus could open his mouth, Dumbledore said, "Not for this, Neville. However, both Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall will hand out detention and take points for your littl adventure."

"How many?" Harry queried.

"Fifty points." Minerva said crisply. "_Each_."

"Each!" The Gryffindors and Draco wailed.

"In addition to that, all of you shall have detention next week doing what I have yet to decide, and sit in your common room with my dunce cap on your head for ten minutes. One night for each of you." Minerva continued. "I am shocked and ashamed that you have behaved as you did."

"Bu-but professor, what about the House Cup?" wailed Ron.

"What about it, Mr. Weasley?" she asked frostily. "Gryffindor will lose unless a miracle occurs."

All of the Gryffindors looked shocked and felt terribly guilty.

Draco looked pale too, for he knew his Housemates would _not_ be pleased with the loss of fifty points at all.

"Furthermore, you shall all be serving various detentions from me," interjected Severus. He swept them all with a glare that made them cringe. "Longbottom, you shall be serving detention with me tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, harvesting stinkweed, and Sunday cleaning fire crabs."

"Yes, sir." Neville said, not able to look the professor in the eye.

"Weasley, you shall be scrubbing my classroom floor tomorrow and mulching Professor Sprout's vegetable patch with dragon dung on Sunday."

Ron made a face, then nodded. He knew better than to protest, seeing the state Snape was in.

Severus turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger, you shall be banned from the library for the weekend." He ignored Hermione's gasp of dismay. "Perhaps some time away from books will enable you to think about what you _should_ have done upon finding the dragon egg. You shall also come to my classroom at ten o'clock tomorrow morning and on Sunday. You will first write an essay for me on the danger you put yourself and your friends in and what you should have done instead; the next day you shall be cleaning out the cabinet in the back of my classroom."

"Yes, Professor Snape. I'm sorry."

"As you ought to be." Then he turned to Draco and Harry, his scowl even more pronounced. "As for you two, I shall tell you about your detention tomorrow morning. Be in my office at 8 AM, Malfoy, and you, Potter, at 8:30, sharp."

Both boys murmured agreement, unsure if that were a good or bad thing.

"Why, Severus!" exclaimed Minerva. "I've never known you to wait when you issue detention."

"This time, Minerva, I need to think of a suitable punishment for Malfoy and Potter." Her colleague answered grimly. "But rest assured, they will regret their actions as much as the others."

"Next time, children, might I suggest you think before you act?" Dumbledore said. "If you had all been killed, your families would have grieved endlessly. You are dismissed. Go to bed."

McGonagall herded her Gryffindors, all save for Harry, out the door and Severus did the same for Draco and Harry.

They did not speak as they headed down to the dungeons. Malfoy slipped inside the Slytherin portrait hole without even looking up at Harry. He knew he would not sleep at all the rest of the night, imagining Severus informing Narcissa of this latest fiasco. He wasn't sure which was worse, his mother returning to Hogwarts to discipline him or Snape doing so with the paddle in the desk drawer.

Harry remained silent as he walked leadenly towards Snape's quarters. But once they were inside, he could remain silent no longer. "Uncle Severus, please let me explain I didn't mean to break all those rule it's just, one thing led to another and . . ."

"Harry, enough!" Severus spun on him, setting his hands on the boy's shoulders and giving him a brisk shake. "I do not wish to discuss what you have done any longer, I am on my last nerve tonight. Go to bed immediately, no back talk."

"Yes, sir." Harry bit his lip hard and turned away, fighting back tears. He wondered if Severus would ever forgive him.

"Wait."

Harry turned back, a glimmer of hope fluttering in his chest.

"Sit down on the sofa and let me tend your hands." His guardian ordered gruffly.

Harry had quite forgotten about his burned palms until Severus reminded him.

Severus summoned a basin of water, soft cloths, and some burn-healing paste. He thoroughly yet gently cleansed, salved, and wrapped his ward's hands, working in silence. He then insisted Harry drink a pain reliever and go to bed.

Harry obeyed, slowly undressing and changing into pajamas. Skull fluttered into his room and perched upon the bedpost. Harry looked at the raven and whispered, "I'm really sorry, Skull. Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

"I do not know. What you did was not only stupid and reckless, but scared him—and me—half to death. Sev is as furious as I've ever seen him, and rightly so. You are in serious trouble, _bran-boy._"

"I know." Harry sighed gustily.

Skullduggery abruptly flew over to the boy and pecked him sharply on the top of the head.

"Ow! Skull, that _hurt_!" Harry yelped, rubbing his sore head.

"That is what my mother would have done to me if I had behaved so, young one. Tried to knock some sense into your foolish head," the raven croaked. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, boy, sneaking about in the dead of night, lying, and risking your silly little neck. You almost gave me a heart attack!" He gave Harry another peck, though this one wasn't quite as hard.

"All right already! I've learned my lesson, now leave off." Harry groaned. "I'm sorry."

"Are you truly? You shall be even sorrier tomorrow morning, I'd wager." Skull warned.

"Tell me something I _don't_ know."

"Sev is watching you from the doorway and if you're not in bed by the time the clock strikes, he'll come in and tie you to the bed," Skull snapped.

Harry quickly climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin, and facing the wall. Tomorrow could wait, as far as he was concerned. He heard Skull leave and the door close. Tears welled in his eyes and dripped unnoticed onto his comforter, having both his guardian and Skull angry at him hurt terribly. It took him forever to fall asleep.

**Page~Break**

Severus methodically went about getting ready for bed, he felt every one of his thirty-two years tonight and then some. He quickly swallowed a Headache Remedy then went and lay down, a cool damp cloth soaked in lavender and cucumber infused water over his eyes. He felt Skull perch lightly upon his chest, heard the raven start crooning one of his familiar lullabies.

"Thank you."

"You look like you need a stiff drink, Sev," the raven cawed.

"If I started drinking now, Skullduggery, I'd never stop," snorted the wizard. "Being drunk, no matter how good it might feel, won't help my situation with Harry. Drunk or sober, he's bound to drive me insane. I still cannot believe that he had the sheer nerve to challenge a mother dragon like that!" There was reluctant admiration in Severus' tone.

"Me neither! I thought for sure that he was going to end up down her gullet. Spirits of my ancestors!"

"There is no doubt about it, but he has inherited his father's recklessness in full measur as well as his crazy courage. James Potter never really bothered to count the odds. Sometimes that worked in his favor, but other times . . ." Severus shook his head. "When I agreed to the guardianship, I knew it would not be easy, keeping watch over him, but I never expected this! He has enough unknown enemies, must he continue to risk his life on his own as well? When will he ever learn?"

"Perhaps when he's thirty?"

"Humph! Very funny, Skull. Though I'm beginning to suspect you're right. I couldn't trust my temper tonight, Skull. That's why I decided to wait before I punished him. Or Draco. Otherwise I might have done more harm than good."

"That was wise, Sev. Punishments should never be handed out when you're blinded by anger." The raven advised. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

Severus yawned. "I shall." He banished the wet cloth, his headache had subsided. He turned over on his side and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a day from hell, and he wanted to be well-rested. He was not looking forward to it, detentions and punishment turned his stomach sour, but there had to be consequences, he would be damned if he allowed Harry to just 'get off' the way the Marauders had. At the same time he worried that he might be too harsh with the boy, he did not want to be like Harry's uncle. He tossed and turned all night, wrestling with his dilemma before finally falling asleep around three in the morning.

**Page~Break**

_8:30 AM, Saturday morning_

_Snape's office:_

Harry waited to be summoned inside the professor's office, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, or so it would have seemed to the casual observer. If you had looked closely, however, you would have seen signs that the boy was wretchedly nervous; he had bitten his nails down to the quick, and chewed his bottom lip to shreds as well. His clothes had been hastily tossed on that morning, his shirt was rumpled and his jeans bore creases in them, one shoelace was untied and he had left his robe in his room, figuring it was a weekend so he didn't need to wear it. His hair looked as if it had never seen a comb and his green eyes were glazed from lack of sleep and dread.

The office door opened and Draco emerged, his eyes puffy and red-rimmed, looking chastened but trying to keep a stiff upper lip, as befitted an aristocrat.

Harry saw right through it. "You okay?"

Draco snorted. "Just brilliant, can't you tell?"

Harry shook his head. "Did he err. . . ?"

"What do _you_ think, Potter?" The Slytherin grimaced.

"I'm sorry." Harry felt compelled to apologize.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please! Don't get a guilt complex, you idiot Gryffindor. We all knew what we did was forbidden. We knew if we got caught, there'd be hell to pay. We got caught and now we're paying. End of story."

Harry blinked, shocked that Draco was actually taking the blame for his own actions. "Oh. Right. Where are you going?"

"Breakfast. I'll need to eat before I have to start scrubbing the toilets," the other admitted with another grimace. "God, but I _hate_ cleaning things without magic. I feel like a bloody house elf!"

"I know the feeling," Harry murmured. "Think the rest of the school will learn about the point deduction?"

"Probably. They'll see as soon as they leave the hall," Draco said morosely. "I'll be lucky if my Housemates don't drown me." He turned to go, adding over his shoulder, "Better get in there, Potter. If Snape has to come and get you, it'll be worse."

Heaving a sigh that seemed to come from the bottom of his shoes, Harry turned the handle and entered the office. His stomach was now doing flipflops as he faced his guardian.

Severus did not look as menacing as last night, but that wasn't saying too much. Harry swallowd hard and forced himself to look Severus in the eye. He was ashamed and apprehensive, but he refused to cower before the professor. As Draco had said, he had known beforehand that what he did was wrong, and now he'd been caught and there was going to be hell to pay.

"So, Mr. Potter. You thought you'd play animal rescuer and raise a baby dragon," Severus began, his tone sharp with sarcasm. "How very enterprising and noble of you. Did you give any thought at all about what would have happened had your dragonet flamed you? One of your friends? Well? Are you going to play mute or answer me?"

"I did think of that, sir." Harry spoke softly, his throat gone dry. "But we figured we coul teach her not to. Viv wa very smart. She learned things quickly. Hermione taught her all kinds of commands and Draco taught her not to chew things, like Hagrid's boots uh . . ." Too late he realized his blunder. He had now implicated Hagrid in his scheme.

"So Hagrid was involved in this too." Severus stated. "I suspected as much. You wouldn't have been able to hide the beast without help. And Hagrid has often said to me that he wished he could train a dragon."

"We made him swear to help us, Uncle Severus!" Harry said quickly.

Severus leaned over the desk quick as a snake striking, coming nearly nose to nose with Harry. "Don't make things worse by lying to me, young man!"

"I'm not, sir! I swear by my mum's grave!" Harry stuttered a little. "We all swore an oath on our wizard's honor never to tell anyone about Viv, and we made Hagrid swear too before we showed him the egg."

Severus's eyes bored into his, but Harry did not look away. The Potions Master could tell he wasn't lying. At least not about this. He reseated himself. "So, you freely admit to breaking both Ministry law, the school laws about being out of bed, as well as my own rule about putting yourself in harm's way?"

"Yes, sir."

"What were you really doing atop the Astronomy Tower?"

"We were trying to send Viv away somewhere she'd be able to grow up safe and sound."

"I see. Were you, perhaps, in contact with some dragon tamers?"

"Yes, Uncle Severus. But they never showed up. The mother dragon did."

"She must have been frantically searching for her baby all this time. How long did you have the baby Pendragon?"

"Uh well, it took a week for the egg to hatch and I guess it was about a month or so."

"Hmm. Odd it took that long for her to track you. Unless she was Confunded." Severus mused. Then his expression hardened. "How many times must I tell you never risk your life? First the troll and now this!"

"I just wanted to draw her away from Nev and Ron and Draco."

"Why didn't you simply let the baby go to her?"

"Uh, she was about to roast us and I thought we could use Viv as insurance."

"Humph! So you elected instead to play chicken." Severus' hands tightened into white-knuckled fists. "Have you _any_ idea what I felt when I saw you atop the Tower, weaving in and out between her claws, dodging her fire? I nearly had heart failure right there!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Are you? Then why, in Merlin's name, do you keep repeating the same mistake over and over?" Severus demanded, his voice rising slightly.

"I don't know." Harry mumbled.

"Suppose you think very hard about that today, while you are confined to your room?" Snape said coldly. "To add insult to injury, you lied to me for over a month about what you were doing with your free time. I trusted you to stay out of trouble and instead you were in it up to your damn neck! All this time I thought you were flying with your friends, studying or playing Quidditch, you were going behind my back and hiding an illegal animal. Is that how you keep your word, Harry James Potter? You have broken my trust with your irresponsible behavior and your lies, shown me that you cannot be trusted."

"No!" Harry sniffled. "I _can_ be trusted, Uncle Severus! I just didn't think everything through."

"No, you didn't. All you thought about was what you wanted, never mind it was forbidden!" Severus lectured sternly. "I hope you're happy now, young man! Was it worth it?"

Harry dropped his gaze to hide the burning tears in his eyes. "Not really." He had loved Viv, but was now discovering that losing Severus' trust was a loss that cut him deeply. Then he whispered. "But I really did love her."

Severus hardened his heart at the boy's sincere reply. He was not surprised at Harry's declaration. What boy would not love a baby dragon he had raised from the egg?

"That may be, but it shall not get you out of a well deserved punishment. First, you are restricted to your room for the rest of the morning, until twelve o'clock, when you shall accompany me to the Astronomy Tower, and assist me and Professor Sinistra in repairing what the Pendragon destroyed as best you can. That will take the weekend. Your broom is mine for the rest of the term—you will be given it back only to play in matches. You are now under, as Muggles would put it, house arrest. Skullduggery shall accompany you to and from class and my quarters, you shall be back here directly after supper, permitted to see your friends only during class and for scheduled study periods here. You will go to bed at nine and are forbidden to be in the library unless accompanied by me. Last but not least, for putting yourself in harm's way, you'll be getting a sound spanking, as I promised. I am extremely disappointed in you, Mr. Potter."

Harry felt himself shrivel inside at those words, though he had been expecting them. His eyes widened as Severus' chair scraped across the floor as he pushed it away from the desk. Harry wondered if he were fetching the paddle, before recalling Severus telling him he would only use his hand. But the mere thought of the spanking made him squirm.

"Come here." Severus ordered, his voice devoid of emotion.

Harry obeyed, determined not to cry. He found himself bent over his guardian's lap, held firmly in place.

Severus began counting as he delivered three sharp smacks to the upturned bottom.

Harry's resolve lasted about two seconds then he was crying, more from the awful shame than from actual pain. _You've broken my trust._ Severus' words cut him like a whip, hurting more than the stinging in his behind. _He'll never forgive me! Never!_

Severus let the boy cry for a few moments, but when Harry showed no sign of ceasing, just lying there and sobbing, he lifted him up and stood him on his feet. "It's over. Harry, enough."

Harry refused to look him in the eye, instead he stared at the ground and tears splashed on his trainers.

Sighing, Severus drew him against his chest. "Child, it was three swats, not three hundred."

Harry gulped, trying to stem the flood. "M'not crying 'cause of _that_. Well, not only . . ."

"Oh? Then why?"

"'Cause you hate me now and I'm not worthy to be your ward . . ."

"Excuse me? Where did you ever get that notion?" Severus repeated incredulously. "I never said that!" He lifted the boy's chin and tilted his head up. "Look at me. I do _not_ hate you, Harry James Potter. I am angry and disappointed, yes, but that does not mean I hate you."

"But you won't forgive me," he cried.

"Yes, I will. And I have," Severus told him gently. "You made a grave mistake but once you serve your punishment, we won't discuss it again."

"But you don't trust me anymore." Harry sniffled, dropping his eyes.

"No. You will have to earn my trust back. And that will take time." Severus said firmly. He tilted the boy's head back up. "Even so, you shall always be worthy to be my ward. No matter what you do or how aggravated you make me. I am not your uncle. I will never cast you aside."

"Promise?"

"Upon my wand and my Name." Severus said solemnly. Then he removed a handkerchief from his pocket. "Dry your eyes and blow your nose, youngling. Such dramatics! One would have thought I striped you raw with a belt."

Harry took the handkerchief and used it. He was a bit embarrassed, but supposed he could hardly be blamed for thinking Severus would never forgive him. His aunt and uncle never had. He surreptitiously rubbed his bottom, vowing not to get on Snape's bad side agai this term. Then he resolved to do his best to accept his punishment with good grace and win back the trust he had broken, so Severus could be proud of him once more. He wanted that more than anything.

"Go to your room, Harry." Severus ordered. "I shall send in an elf with your breakfast."

"Yes, Uncle Sev," murmured his ward, blowing his nose yet again. He turned to go.

"Next time behave."

"I'll try, sir."

**A/N: Well, was Severus' punishment of Harry fair?**

**Next-the reaction of the rest of the students, and some parents as well, plus McGonagall's detention and punishment. Thanks to everyone who has read and stuck with this story, please continue to do so! **


	23. Further Consequences

**23**

**Further Consequences**

**A/N: I know that the site was down when i last posted and some of you couldn't review the last chapter, so if you would like to leave a review for chapter 22 please do so. Thanks!**

Harry shifted slightly, relieving the pressure on his smarting bottom as he sat on his bed, picking at the scrambled eggs, bacon, crumpets with butter and jelly, and pumpkin juice the house elf Bartleby had brought him. He was too upset to eat, even though his stomach was gurgling. He did drink the Nutrient Potion that accompanied the meal, knowing he couldn't skip that. His guardian would know and probably make him drink extra. He forced himself to eat half a crumpet, a few spoonfuls of egg, and one strip of bacon. That was all he could tolerate right then.

He pushed the tray away and lay down on his stomach with a heavy sigh. Shame and guilt poked and prodded his conscience, and he wondered how his friends were faring. He could only imagine the reaction of the rest of Gryffindor when they learned that the House had lost two hundred points last night. He also wondered if McGonagall had informed the Weasleys or Neville's Gran Augusta or the Grangers about what had gone on. Or if Severus had informed Narcissa. He didn't want his friends to get in any more trouble. Despite what Draco had said about them all knowingly disobeying the rules of the school and the Ministry, Harry couldn't help feeling guilty. He was the one who had told Hermione about finding the egg and dragooned her into doing research. He should have just left the egg where it was, or not allowed Ron, Draco, or Neville to become involved with raising the dragon. _How would you have stopped them?_ asked a small voice in the back of his head. It should have been _him_ who brought Viv to the Astronomy Tower. Then only he would have been in trouble. The way it usually was.

He brooded some more on his foolishness, recalling how angry Skull had been. _You scared both him—and me—to death!_ Not only that, Harry thought regretfully, but he had also risked the familiar's life and Severus' too. The enraged mother Pendragon could have easily flamed Skull to death, or attacked Severus and torn him to shreds. Just recalling those gigantic claws and wicked teeth made Harry shiver. Imagining them tearing into his guardian or the raven caused him to tear up.

Severus was right. He _hadn't_ thought about the consequences of his actions, at least not beyond getting caught. But now he realized just how insane they all had been, trying to fight a dragon that way. Or raising one. He recalled the fact that for some reason the dragon tamers hadn't met them atop the tower, and he prayed it didn't have anything to do with the mother Pendragon. Of course, Harry couldn't have known that the female Pendragon would come searching for her baby. Harry prayed the dragon tamers remained unhurt and had just been late for the rendezvous.

He absently rubbed his backside, the sting was leaving it, though he felt a hot flush of embarrassment when he recalled the spanking and how he had bawled like a baby during it. Did Draco cry when his mother or Snape had spanked him? Did he feel the same hot rush of embarrassment at getting punished like a little kid? Even though he _had_ deserved it, Harry hoped Severus never punished him that way again.

And he still had McGonagall's session with the dunce cap to endure, plus whatever detention she handed out. Not to mention the censure of the rest of his House.

But the absolute worst part of this whole fiasco was that he had broken Severus' trust. The look of disappointment and even . . . hurt in the professor's eyes caused Harry's heart to ache even worse than his backside had moments before. He bit his lip, trying to think about ways in which he could gain Severus' trust back. He knew the professor valued honesty and obedience in children, so he resolved to try and do as he was told from now on, and not lie to his guardian. He figured that maybe he could volunteer to help Severus clean his classroom after lessons, or gather ingredients, shine the man's boots, scrub the apartment, anything to show his repentance and remorse.

He wouldn't even complain about Skullduggery following him around the school like a shadow, even though he detested being watched like a criminal. Or the fact that he could no longer fly in the afternoons after class with Ron and Draco or even pick a book from the library without having Snape escort him like a bleeding toddler. Then maybe . . . just maybe . . . Severus would see that he could take his punishment like a man and trust him again.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

The students were all too sleepy to notice the difference in the hourglasses on their way to breakfast, which allowed Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Neville some peace to eat breakfast. Rumors were flying about what had caused the "earthquake" in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers last night. The Ravenclaws were speculating it had been a meteor fallen to earth, that had struck the Astronomy Tower, the Gryffindors thought one of Hagrid's pets had run amok, one fifth year mentioned Hagrid had raised a giant three-headed dog last year.

The three amateur dragon keepers said nothing, just kept their heads down. Though all of them noticed that Harry was absent from breakfast. The rest of the House assumed Potter was sleeping in; only Ron, Hermione, and Neville knew about Snape's detention and wondered if Harry had survived the wrath of his guardian. Only Draco knew that Snape had probably paddled the Boy Who Lived's bottom as well as his own. When Hermione darted a glance across the aisle at the Slytherin table, she noticed Draco quietly eating while his Housemates also speculated about the ruckus, only _they_ thought it had been caused by a dumb Gryffindor brewing in their bedroom, or a Ravenclaw experimenting with an exploding charm.

"For sure, _somebody's_ head's going to roll for this one," Flint snickered, taking a bite of his potatoes and eggs.

Draco swallowed hard and thought gloomily, _Somebody's head—and ass—already has. Mine._ He took another bite of toast. _Potter's too, if Snape's temper was anything to go by this morning._ The single good thing that had happened that morning was his Head's assurance that he would handle Draco's punishment himself, with no interference from Narcissa or Lucius. At least that was something.

The morning post was delivered amid many yawns and rubbing of eyes, then finally breakfast was over. The students filed out into the Entrance Hall, eager to have a day free of classes, and reflexively checked their hourglasses.

There came a wave of horrified gasps from the Gryffindors as they gazed at the level of colored crystals in their hourglass. There had to be some kind of mistake, because they had lost two hundred points in _one night_!

Fred rubbed his eyes and nudged George. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, twin?"

"I think mine eyes deceive me, brother. Because . . . unless I need glasses like Harry . . .we've lost any chance at the House Cup." George cried.

"That can't be possible!" Wood protested.

"There has to be a mistake," whimpered Lavender Brown.

"Maybe we were supposed to _get_ two hundred points and Dumbledore mistakenly took them away instead?" suggested Parvati hopefully.

"Yeah, right," sneered a Slytherin girl. "Then how come _we_ lost fifty? Something stinks here."

"Like a rotten egg," Flint confirmed.

"When in doubt, check the detention logs," Percy suggested superciliously to his fellow prefect.

"I was just gonna do that, Weasley," Flint snorted. He moved over to where the rolls of parchment were stuck to the wall, listing the student's detentions for the week—by name, date, time, offense, and professor. "Ah, flaming hell!" he swore stridently. Then he spun and leveled a nasty glare at Draco, who had been doing his best to sneak off, but couldn't get through the crowd. "Malfoy, you were caught out of bed last night by McGonagall _and_ Snape? What in ruddy hell were you _thinking_? It was good idea to have a picnic at midnight?"

Draco blushed and lowered his head, not answering his angry prefect.

"You cost us _fifty points_, Malfoy!" Flint scolded. "That's unacceptable."

Several other students in Slytherin began muttering furiously and giving Malfoy the stink eye.

"Maybe you and I need to have another chat, boy," hissed Flint in Malfoy's ear.

Draco flinched, then said quietly, "I'm sorry, Prefect. I . . . I have to go and scrub the boy's bathroom, it's part of my detention for Professor Snape."

"Get on with it then! But once you're done, we're going to discuss your being out of bounds," growled the highly irritated prefect.

Draco slunk away, thus missing Percy's sharp outraged shout. "I can't believe this! Granger, Longbottom, _and_ Potter were there too! And you also, Ron! Bloody blue blazes! What in heck were you doing up there?"

"They were trying to see Uranus!" chortled Fred. "Get it, Perce?"

Percy rolled his eyes at the old joke, while several Gryffindors snickered, including George. "Get a life, George!"

"It's Fred, O Righteous Prefect," mocked his brother. "Don't be too hard on Ronnie, every one of us—"

"—except _you_, O Perfect One—" George sketched a mock bow. "—have got in trouble at school."

"Not even you two have ever lost _fifty_ points at one time, much less _two hundred_!" protested Percy. "_And _received detention from _two _Heads." He put his hands on his hips and fastened a basilisk glare at his youngest brother. "Ronald, just _what_ in Merlin's name did you do? Start talking, or else!"

Ron gave Percy a mulish look. "Quit acting like Mum, Percy! I don't have to tell you anything."

"No? You either tell me or I'll tell Mum and Dad."

Ron gasped. "You _wouldn't_!"

"Of course he would! He's Percy the Prat!" chorused the twins.

"Besides, I'd wager for something this major, McGonagall's already written home to Mum and Dad." Percy said smugly. "She did to Fred and George in second year."

Ron groaned and Fred and George shook their heads.

"Better come clean, little brother," coaxed George.

"You know we'll find out soon enough," persuaded Fred. "And when we do . . ."

"We'll prank you good." George chuckled wickedly.

"You're already going to, for us losing all those points," snorted Ron.

"True," Fred nodded. "But telling us how naughty you were . . ."

"Will make us a bit more merciful," George finished.

"We fought a Pendragon," Hermione spoke up, unwilling to keep silent.

More gasps followed that statement.

"Holy hells! What was a Pendragon doing here?" demanded Oliver Wood.

"She came to get back her baby," Hermione answered.

"What baby?" asked Seamus.

"The one we were helping Hagrid raise," Neville offered. "She tracked it to the school, and then tried to fry us."

"Come on, you can tell us the rest in the common room," Percy said abruptly. He began to haul Ron towards the stairs, and the rest of the Gryffindors followed.

"No fair!" cried a Hufflepuff. "We wanted to hear too!"

"Tough luck. You can wait your turn," Percy told her, then proceeded up the stairs.

Once behind the portrait hole, Percy made the three miscreants tell them everything. He was quite furious at how they had all cost Gryffindor the House Cup, and so were most of the rest of them, though a few were reluctant admirers of the four's daring in trying to fight off the mother Pendragon. Still, even foolhardy courage couldn't offset the disappointment in knowing they were now in last place for the cup.

"Where's Potter?" asked Dean.

"Down in Snape's office, probably getting his arse reamed out," replied Ron, though he suspected that wasn't _all_ Snape was doing to poor Harry.

Everyone present winced slightly. A little of Snape's famous temper went a long way.

Even so, they were all impressed at the fact that the dungeon bat and his familiar had risked their necks to save the four delinquents, and the twins were quite indignant that they should have risked the life of their beloved brother prankster-in-feathers.

They both looked at their brother and his friends and shook their heads regretfully. "_Now_ you're really in for it, little brother!"

Ron's eyes nearly bugged out. "But . . . but . . . it wasn't my fault! I never told Snape or Skull to get involved."

"He's right," squeaked Neville timidly. "Professor Snape came to save Harry . . . mostly."

"Professor Snape came to save _all_ of you, not just his ward," Minerva declared smoothly from the door of her apartment. "He and Skullduggery would not have needed to if you four had been in bed like all the rest of my Lions." She walked forward, a white pointed felt cap under her arm. Several of the older students winced openly when they saw it, having either worn it or seen it in action.

"I have never been so ashamed of Gryffindors in all of my years of teaching. Well . . . except perhaps once." Minerva amended, recalling another night where something terrible had nearly taken place. "But I shall let my dunce cap speak for me."

She gestured and a three-legged stool floated into the center of the common room. The professor stalked up to it and called, "Ronald Weasley, step forward."

Gulping, Ron walked over and sat down on the stool.

McGonagall placed the dunce cap on his head. Like the Sorting Hat it was magical, but unlike the Hat, it was not kind to a student, and began to chastise Ron in Minerva's own voice. "Mr. Weasley, you have tarnished the honorable Name of Gryffindor by your foolish and dangerous actions . . .Not even your brothers ever behaved in so dismal a fashion . . ."

Beneath the cap, Ron went beet red from the tips of his ears to his chin and the watching Gryffindors cackled at the hat's pointed comments.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Back in Snape's quarters, Harry left his room to use the bathroom. On his way back, he caught sight of one of Severus' many black robes, tossed hastily over the back of the sofa. Harry considered why that might be, as usually Snape hung up his robes carefully on the hooks alongside the door. Then he thought perhaps the professor had been in too much of a hurry last night to be bothered hanging up his robes after going to rescue Harry and his friends. Or too frazzled.

His hand crept up and gently stroked the dark fabric, marveling at how sleek it was, almost like a snake's skin. Severus had told him it was like that in part due to the runes of protection sewn into the fabric on the inside. The robe also smelled slightly spicy, sort of like cloves or cinnamon, faintly like vanilla, and lavender, because Snape had been brewing Dreamless Sleep and Calming Drafts when he had last worn this particular robe. Harry found himself lifting it up and burying his face in the soft folds.

To him, it smelled comfortably of home. He took the robe back to his room, curled up on his bed once more, cuddling the black fabric to him like a favorite plushie. It almost, though not quite, reminded him of being held in Snape's arms. He breathed in deeply the myriad scents the robe contained and imagined that Severus were there, looking down upon him without censor or shame. It made him feel slightly better, and he remained that way until his eyes closed and he fell asleep with the black robe wrapped about him in a loving embrace, dreaming of a time when his guardian trusted him and thought he was a good child despite his tendency to be cheeky and forget the rules. Two tears of remorse slipped down his cheeks to soak into the Potion Master's robe.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Draco had just finished scrubbing the last toilet down in the dungeon level boy's bathroom, he straightened up slowly, putting a hand to the small of his back. He stifled a groan. Merlin, but how did Muggles do this all the time? It bloody sucked! He examined his hands, expecting to see blisters on his palms. There were none, but his hands were reddened and sore from gripping the handle of the toilet bowl brush for an hour. He carefully washed and dried them and thought about taking a hot shower. He felt grungy and disgusting, some of those toilets had been _beyond_ gross . . .didn't their fathers teach their sons how to pee anymore, or at least _aim_ in the right direction? Honestly. Pigs, the lot of them.

He returned the cleaning solution and the brush to Filch's closet, scowling when he recalled the caretaker's gleeful smirk when he came and asked to borrow the supplies. "Got in trouble, have you? Maybe now you'll learn t'stay in bed where you belong."

Draco had to admit he wouldn't be making _that_ mistake again anytime soon. He would have preferred another three whacks with the paddle rather than scrubbing eighteen toilets. Though he had to admit, Snape had tailored the punishments to fit his students. Draco, raised in a household where manual labor was a thing for house elves, considered it the height of humiliation to scrub toilets, especially without magic. Hermione, with her adoration of the written word, was probably bemoaning the fact that she was banned from the library for the weekend. For Neville, gathering potion ingredients, especially ones that stank was a chore, and Weasley had to clean the potions classroom, a place that he disliked as well as mulching the garden with dragon dung. Draco wasn't certain what Potter had been made to do, only that the dark-haired boy's punishment probably was worse than the rest of theirs put together, considering he was Snape's ward.

_Next time don't go hiding a baby Pendragon, and you won't need to go through this, _Draco reminded himself as he headed to Snape's office. Though a part of him couldn't regret having met Viviane and watched her grow, for the dragonet had been smart and funny when she wasn't destroying Hagrid's hut and his boots. He had experienced something rare and precious with the small dragon and he knew he would miss her and never forget her.

He was so intent on reminiscing about Viv that he failed to notice the footsteps behind him until a hard hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him about.

"Malfoy, you and I need to have a little talk," Flint growled.

"W-what?" Draco stammered, looking up into the big prefect's icy blue eyes.

"This is the third—or is it fourth—maybe fifth time you've cost us points and acted like an impulsive Gryffindork. Hell, you're even hanging around them now. I can understand Potter, he's half a snake now what with the professor being his guardian, but that wuss Longbottom, and Weasley the blood traitor and Granger the know-it-all? Where's all that aristocratic pride you Malfoys are always spouting off about?"

"Let go of me!" Draco cried, struggling. "I don't owe you or anybody an explanation for who I'm friends with. Now mind your own business!"

"Don't you get it?" Flint shook the other boy sharply. "You _are_ my business, brat! You and every other Slytherin firstie here. What you do reflects on our House, and _me_ as your prefect, and your stupidity may have just cost us the cup. I told you last time that you had better wise up and quit thumbing your nose at the rules and you just don't listen! First dueling with bloody Potter, then stealing his watch, now this! Maybe if you get to stand on the Platform of Shame for the week and get rubbish and stinging hexes thrown at you, you'll learn what it means to toe the mark, eh?"

Draco paled, for he knew the other boy was not kidding. Slytherins policed their own, if they felt a member required it, and the look in Flint's eyes promised a world of humiliation.

"That will not be necessary, Marcus." Severus cut in smoothly, having heard Flint's angry voice outside his office door and come to investigate. "Malfoy has already been sufficiently punished for his misbehavior by me and Professor McGonagall. You have no need to add to it, understood?"

The professor's voice was soft, but there was an undercurrent of steel within it that made Flint swallow and nod his assent rapidly. "Yes, sir, Professor Snape." He released Draco. He shot the blond a fierce look, but said nothing further. He trusted his Head of House, and if Snape said Malfoy had been punished enough then it was so, for all Slytherins knew there was no taskmaster to equal Severus Snape in the entire school.

"Malfoy, come with me." Severus said, ushering Draco into his office. "Marcus, don't you have Quidditch practice?" asked the Potions Master pointedly.

Flint nodded. "I was just on my way there, sir." He hurried up the corridor.

Draco gave his professor a grateful glance as he entered the office. "Thank you, sir."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "No thanks are necessary, Draco. There's no sense in beating a dead horse, as the Muggles say. I trust you have learned your lesson?"

"Yes, sir." Draco assured him, feeling beads of sweat pop out on his forehead in relief.

"Good. Keep out of trouble. You will meet me here the same time tomorrow morning for detention. Dismissed, Malfoy."

As Draco left, Severus massaged his temples. It was nearly ten o'clock and soon Hermione would be coming down to his classroom for her detention. Afterwards he would go and check on Harry and then take his ward up to the Astronomy Tower to placate Sinistra, who was going to raise holy hell when she saw the state her tower had gotten into. All in all, it had been a very trying morning, and the day wasn't half over yet.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

At precisely ten o'clock, Severus heard a tapping at his office door. "Come in, Miss Granger."

Hermione entered, looking apprehensive and ashamed. "Sir, I'm here for my detention."

Severus merely nodded and rose, beckoning her to follow him through the connecting door to his classroom. As they entered the lights flickered on and Severus pointed to a desk where a quill, parchment, and ink rested. "Sit there, young lady. You have an hour and a half to write me an essay about what you should have done differently in regards to the dragonet and how your foolishness might have had serious fatal consequences for you and your friends. Begin."

The girl lowered her head and began to write. Though the professor did not speak to her again, she could feel his obsidian eyes upon her, watching her intently, dark with disapproval. She had never gotten detention before at school, back at home her teachers hardly ever had to reprimand her for anything, unless it was to stop asking questions nonstop. But this time . . . this time she had really broken the rules and the fact that she had done so blatantly frightened her. She knew better. She recalled her mother telling a friend once that she never had to worry about Hermione being cheeky to a teacher or getting sent to the Head's office, she was respectful of teachers and loved doing well in school, that she was a daughter to be proud of.

_You wouldn't be proud of me now, Mum. You'd be so ashamed, you'd probably want to drag me back home and ship me off to reform school, _Hermione thought miserably.

She re-dipped her quill in the ink pot and continued to write, concentrating on describing how she had gotten involved with the baby Pendragon and how excited she had been to discover the rare species and how she had fallen in love with Viviane. _I know that doesn't excuse my disobeying the rules, Professor Snape, but please understand that all I wanted was to be with her and raise her. I'm sorry that I broke all those rules, I've never done that in my life, and while I knew it was wrong to sneak out of bed, I just couldn't let my friends take the risk and not me. My parents would be appalled at what nearly happened to me and to my friends. My dad only agreed to send me to Hogwarts because my magic was growing too strong for me to control by myself. _. .

She wrote over two feet of parchment, her quill scratching swiftly across the scroll. She knew that her Housemates hated her now for losing all those points, and she wished she had done more to discourage her friends from keeping the egg. She wasn't sure what she could have done to stop them, but deep inside she knew she hadn't tried because just once she had wanted to behave like a normal child and not a goody-two-shoes know-it-all. She recalled how much fun she had had with the dragonet and concluded she regretted putting her friends in danger but could never regret teaching the dragonet. It had been the opportunity of a lifetime. She wondered how Harry was faring, and hoped Snape was not being too harsh with him. Finally, she was finished. She carefully sprinkled sand upon her parchment to dry the ink and looked up at her professor, who was busy grading homework.

"Professor Snape? I'm finished."

He lifted his head, pinning her with his gaze. "Indeed, Miss Granger? Bring it here."

Hermione obeyed, approaching the stern pedagogue hesitantly. "Sir, may I ask you something?"

Severus reached out and took the parchment, scanning it rapidly. "What is it?"

"It's just . . . well, you see . . . Percy said that Professor McGonagall was probably going to write our parents and tell them what happened last night . . . and I . . . my parents are Muggles, sir, and they'd never understand about Viv and the . . . the mother dragon . . ." Hermione trailed off, looking at Severus pleadingly.

"You are afraid they will act to remove you from Hogwarts," Severus concluded.

"Yes. My dad is . . . well he's awfully overprotective of me . . . I'm his only daughter and . . ."

"And I would react much the same way if I had learned a tower nearly fell on my daughter's head and she had been playing about with a dangerous magical creature. Professor McGonagall knows that, Miss Granger. I would think she has not and will not contact your parents, as you said, they would not understand and you need to remain here at the school."

Hermione let out an enormous sigh of relief. "Truly, sir? Oh, I'm so glad because I really didn't want to have to leave. All my friends are here, the first real friends I've ever had, who like me and not just the fact that they can copy off my homework . . ." Blushing, she stared at her shoes.

"I see," said Severus dryly. _Ah, the curse of being intelligent. _He recalled his own schooldays, and how many of his Housemates would blackmail him into giving them homework answers or else he would find himself on the receiving end of their wands or fists. "A good friend is both a blessing and a curse sometimes. You are fortunate in your choice of friends, but next time look before you leap."

"Yes, sir. How is Harry, professor? He wasn't at breakfast this morning. Is he . . . err . . . grounded forever?"

Severus' mouth twitched at her earnest curiosity. "He is on restriction to his room until twelve noon, and then he shall accompany me to the Astronomy Tower and help fix what was broken. I'm sure he will tell you the rest of his punishment himself. Fear not, Miss Granger, I haven't chopped him up and stewed him into a potion."

Hermione bit back a giggle at Snape's dry wit. "I'm glad to hear that, sir."

"Well, what are you waiting for, permission to move?" he queried a little sharply. "Dismissed, Granger."

Hermione went, muttering softly about what she was going to do the rest of the day, since she was forbidden the library and one of her favorite things to do was read. This was definitely a dreadful day.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

After Severus had finished reading Hermione's essay and deemed it suitable, he decided to check up on Harry. He still needed to confiscate the Nimbus and perhaps they could have some lunch before tackling the Astronomy Tower and Aurora Sinistra's temper. Skullduggery flew onto his shoulder just as he was locking up the office.

"How goes your morning?" queried the professor, scratching the raven's chest.

"All quiet on the western front, Sev," Skull replied, gently rubbing his beak on Snape's shoulder.

Severus grunted. "Humph. I suppose with what occurred last night and the subsequent punishment of those troublemakers is making everyone walk softly today."

"Could be," the raven cawed. "Or . . . it could be they're thinking up new mischief and haven't put it into practice yet."

"We shall hope it is the former rather than the latter," Severus murmured. Then he walked into his quarters.

He expected to find Harry climbing the walls or pacing by now, the boy had never done well with sitting still. Instead when he peered into Harry's room, he discovered the boy sound asleep on his bed, cuddled into one of his robes!

"Well, that's one way to relieve boredom," Skullduggery remarked, his crest standing up.

Severus said nothing, simply stared down at the sleeping boy. A frown creased his saturnine features. "Skullduggery, why is he . . . sleeping with my teaching robe?"

Skull cocked his head, highly amused at his wizard's befuddlement. "Sev, I always said you made a good security blanket."

"_Security blanket?"_

"Or a nice warm fuzzy plushie, if you ever allowed anyone to get close enough to snuggle with you," the raven trilled insolently.

"_A warm fuzzy plushie?_" repeated the professor in a dangerous tone. "Skullduggery I think that stint atop the tower scrambled what little wits you have left. I am _not_ anything like warm or fuzzy!"

"Tell Harry that." Skull chortled. The raven's beady eyes gleamed with humor as he gazed at the child.

"Skullduggery, one of these days I am going to pluck you raw and use your feathers for a dustrag!" threatened the professor.

"Aww, but Sev! Don't you find it rather . . . endearing to be held in such high esteem?"

Severus ground his teeth together. A part of him _did_ find it rather endearing, but he would sooner be Crucioed than admit it, even to his familiar. Dammit, he wasn't supposed to be regarded as _warm and fuzzy_, he was supposed to be strict and unbending, so Harry would behave himself! Where had he gone wrong?

"Aren't you going to wake him up, Sev?" queried the raven saucily.

"No. _You_ can do that. _I_ am going to order some lunch," the Potions Master grumbled.

Skullduggery fluttered down next to Harry's head and began to preen the boy's hair, crooning softly, "_Close your eyes, have no fear, the monster's gone . . . your daddy's here . . . beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy . . ."_

"Skullduggery, I'm putting a cauldron on right now!" his wizard snarled, flushing. He stalked into the main room.

"What's the matter, Snape? Don't you like John Lennon?" Skull warbled, sniggering. "_Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans . . ."_

Harry stirred, opening his eyes. "Huh?" He yawned. "Skull?"

"Hello, _bran-boy_. Have a nice nap?"

"Uh . . . yeah." Harry groped for his glasses, only to find them held out to him by Skull. He thanked the raven and slid them on. He sat up gingerly, but the stinging in his buttocks was gone. He exhaled sharply.

"Not still sore, are you?" asked the bird gently.

Harry felt himself blush. Even Skull knew what had gone on in the office. Did everyone? "No. I . . . I'm better now. Uncle Severus didn't . . . spank me that hard . . ."

"Good. Otherwise he'd be up all night with a guilty stomach."

"But . . . I deserved it . . ." Harry looked down at the robe and went red. Had his guardian seen him wrapped up in the black robe?

"That doesn't mean he liked doing it," Skull told the youngster wisely.

"Is he here?"

"Of course. He's in the den ordering some lunch. Good thing too, since I'm starving." The raven fluffed his feathers.

Harry quickly folded the robe and laid it at the foot of the bed. "Skull? Are you still mad at me?" he asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"Hmm? No. As the Comanche say _Suvate_—it is finished. What's done is done."

"The Comanche?" Harry repeated, his eyebrow rising.

"They're a Native American tribe, the Snakes Who Go Back, as they call themselves. Fierce, war-like, the best horsemen on the Great Plains."

"I've heard of them, but where did you learn to uh . . . speak Comanche?"

"From another raven, Black Amber. She came to stay at the Tower many years ago, and she taught my mother how to travel the Gray Road. She was the respected familiar of a Comanche shaman, Raven Shadow. We learned much from her, including a few words of Comanche."

"That's really interesting. What other words do you know?"

Skull spread his wings and glided into the air. "_Keemah—_come, Harry. Severus is waiting for you and he gets cranky when he's hungry."

Harry snickered then followed the raven into the den, his heart a little lighter now that he knew Skullduggery had forgiven him.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry followed Severus up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. Had it only been last night that he had crept up these same stairs, with Viviane and his friends? It felt like a lifetime ago, when he was younger and stupider. As they reached the top of the stairs and went through the archway, Harry recalled the roar of the mother Pendragon and the searing hot flash of fire as he flew through her forefeet, the blazing golden eyes, the brilliant crimson of her scales as she blotted out the moon. No matter how terrified he had been—and he had been scared spitless—he would never forget that sight as long as he lived.

Shading his eyes with a hand from the bright sun, Harry stepped out onto the Astronomy Tower, squinting, and surveyed the damage the Pendragon had wrought with her claws, teeth, and tail. The entire western half of the tower walls had been smashed to pieces, the stone crumbled to bits. More rubble consumed the south side of the tower as well. Scorch marks and claw marks were scored into the flagstones a few feet from where Harry stood. Bits of broken glass, wood, and metal were scattered everywhere.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I hope you're proud of yourself," Professor Sinistra said acidly, fixing the Gryffindor boy with a withering look. The Astronomy professor was tall with dark brown hair and eyes that usually glistened with laughter. Now they were as hard as meteors and her foot was tapping against the scorched stone. "Half of my tower reduced to rubble, three of my telescopes smashed, and my revolving planet model is kindling thanks to you and your delinquent friends summoning a dragon up here. Isn't there enough trouble down on the ground for you to get into, must you bring it up here too?"

Harry looked at his shoes. "I . . . I'm sorry, Professor Sinistra. My friends and I didn't summon the Pendragon here . . . she came because she was looking for her dragonet. . ."

"Never mind the excuses, Potter. They won't replace my tower." She gestured to the ruins. "Well, don't just stand there, boy. Get a broom and start sweeping up the glass and wood."

She pointed her wand and a large broom appeared, along with a shovel, and so did an industrial sized wheelbarrow.

"Aurora, why don't you and I start by banishing the broken stone?" suggested Severus evenly. We can either Transfigure more blocks and stick them together with magic or Replicate more and have Hagrid mix us up a batch of magical cement. I'm sure Dumbledore has already put in an order to replace your model and telescopes."

Sinistra sniffed, brushing stone dust off of her deep blue robe. "Yes, but when they will get here is another matter. Until then I shall have to use the telescopes from over thirty years ago and they are hopelessly inferior and the lenses are blurry . . ." She cast another angry glance at Harry. "If you were going to lead the bloody dragon on a wild Snark hunt, Potter, why could you not have let her trample the Quidditch pitch or something? At least then it might have been worth risking your fool neck and dying nobly, as Gryffindors are wont to."

Harry blushed and kept sweeping up piles of shattered stone and splinters of the destroyed model.

Sinistra turned and began chanting the Vanishing Charm, removing the large quantities of broken stone off the floor of the Tower.

"Aurora, enough!" Severus spoke up suddenly, his wand out, vanishing another pile of rubble. "My ward acted foolishly, which is why he is up here assisting me, but there is no need to snipe at him. He was not the only student involved or responsible for this disaster. He has apologized and is doing his best to rectify the situation, now leave the boy alone."

Sinistra spun on the black-clad professor. "What's this, Severus? Going soft in your middle age? I would have thought you'd have laid down the law to the brat last night."

Severus straightened.

Harry froze, with the broom in his hand. His guardian looked angry enough to chew obsidian. He couldn't believe Snape was actually protecting him from Sinistra. Harry would have thought Severus would be agreeing with the angry Astronomy professor one hundred percent.

"For your information, Sinistra, I have already laid down the law to him this morning. He has been severely lectured and punished by both myself and Minerva and he doesn't need you griping at him, however much you feel justified in doing so. Vent your temper upon the stone or go and find a dragon to blast apart, but cease snapping at my ward or else this tower won't be the only thing needing to be put back together again."

Sinistra gasped. "Severus Snape, are you _threatening_ me?"

He met her gaze calmly. "I never threaten, Aurora. Do not make me regret coming up here to assist you."

The Astronomy professor spun about, her robes swishing angrily about her ankles. "Insufferable damn man!" she grumbled, and a white light shot out of her wand, blasting the large pieces of stone into dust. "He's like a cobra defending his young when it comes to that Potter brat. Who wouldn't be able to sit for a week if I had custody of him!"

Watching her covertly from under his lashes, Harry was sure she wished the stone was Severus' head. Or even his own. He felt a warm glow spread through him at the way his guardian had defended him. He might have lost Snape's trust, but at least he hadn't lost the wizard's protection.

Harry continued to sweep up the debris, and though his arms ached from lifting shovelful after shovelful of stone chips, wood, and twisted metal fragments into the wheelbarrow, he felt pleased with his efforts and happy to be doing something useful. He ignored the occasional glares the Astronomy professor kept giving him, they weren't half as bad as the ones he used to get from Snape, and he knew she wouldn't dare say or do anything else so long as the Potions Master was there. He couldn't blame her for being angry, but he didn't want to be her scapegoat either.

By the time an hour and a half had gone by, Sinistra and Snape had managed to clear away most of the large pile of rubble and Harry had swept almost the entire circumference of the tower. Sinistra eyed Harry's work and sniffed. "Adequate, Potter. You may return tomorrow and scrub the flagstones with pumice and Magical Mess Remover, hopefully that will get the scorch marks out."

"Yes, professor," Harry said, keeping his tone respectful. Glancing up from beneath his fringe of hair, Harry caught his guardian's nod of approval.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

At one o'clock, Ron arrived panting at Snape's classroom. He had endured the grumbling and cold shoulders of all his Housemates, and Percy threatening to write a letter home telling Molly and Arthur just how well their youngest son was doing at school, following the footsteps of the twins, or worse, as well as Fred and George calling him Mini Mayhem. It almost made him wish the dragon had knocked him silly instead of just sneezing on him. Then maybe they'd feel sorry for him and not out for his blood.

He had not enjoyed the session with McGonagall's dunce cap one bit, and was sure he'd like scrubbing the dungeon floor even less. He had always hated mopping the floor at home, and used to cheat and use one of Molly's enchanted mops when she wasn't looking. He just hoped that McGonagall hadn't written home and told his parents, otherwise he knew he was in for a Howler at the very least. At worst he knew Molly would come to the school and dole out a Weasley-style spanking with her wooden spoon. Shuddering, he knocked on the classroom door. Even scrubbing Snape's dungeon was better than Molly's wrath.

"Enter, Mr. Weasley."

Ron obeyed. Snape was behind his desk, grading as usual. The redhead wondered if Snape saved up all his homework and tests for those times when he had detention, so he had something to do besides watch the clock. Ron saw a large bucket of soapy water in front of the desk along with a monstrous scrub brush. All of the desks had been pushed to the sides of the room, so Ron could see just how much of the floor he had to scrub.

He bit back a groan.

"Begin, Weasley. You have an hour and a half. That should be sufficient provided you don't dawdle." Severus said.

"Yes, Professor Snape," Ron murmured, and dropped to his knees.

By the end of the detention, Ron was sorry he'd ever laid eyes on the Pendragon egg and wished that Charlie's friends had managed to keep their end of the bargain. He was dripping wet with sweat and soapy water and his arms, back, and knees ached. But the stone floor was scrubbed thoroughly with a precision Molly would have approved of. He rose and stretched just as Severus looked up from his third-year essays.

"I'm finished, sir." Then he put a hand to his lower back. "Ooh!"

Severus inspected the floor and said, "You have done a decent job, Mr. Weasley. I hope this reminds you to stay in bed and not go gallivanting about the castle smuggling dragonets out through the Astronomy Tower."

"Oh, it has, professor!" Ron groaned. "I feel like my great-uncle Bilius right now."

"Go and take a soak in a tub with some Muscle Relaxant crystals. Madam Pomfrey has some, ask her for them." Severus suggested. "You shall be mulching the vegetable garden the same time tomorrow."

"I know." Ron turned to go, then asked softly, "Professor, is Harry still . . . alive?"

"No, Weasley, his bones are resting beneath the Astronomy Tower," Severus answered sarcastically. "Of course he's alive. He's just not very happy about it at the moment. But you can hear all about it from his own mouth at dinner tonight."

"Oh. That's good. Err . . . I'm going now." Ron muttered, then managed to walk away as quickly as his sore body would allow.

"Of all the cheek!" Snape rolled his eyes. Then he thanked Merlin that Longbottom's detention was the last one of the day.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Neville hoped he never received another detention from Snape ever again like this one. Harvesting the pungent stinkweed made his eyes water and his stomach churn, but at least he didn't have to endure the professor's icy gaze or sarcastic tongue. Snape stood in the field while Neville carefully snipped the bulbs from the stinkweed plant using shears and gloves. He had even given Neville a handkerchief soaked in aloe water to wipe his face and eyes with as Longbottom gathered.

Neville carefully placed the bulbs inside a glass jar and quickly screwed on the lid. While he normally enjoyed herbology, this was one plant he could do without seeing again for a long time. He had not dared ask his professor just what the stinkweed was used for, assuming whatever potion it was placed in had to be nasty. Just like this detention. His detentions with Snape had never been easy, but this one was proving a rare test of the boy's fortitude. Then again, this was major trouble he'd gone and got into, so he could hardly expect Snape, or McGonagall for that matter, to be merciful.

But at last the harvesting of the plant was complete and Neville was free to take a shower , change, and have a small nap before dinner. He had apologized to his professor for making Snape risk his life, but the older wizard had just snorted and said he was merely doing his duty and next time not to go around hatching strange dragon eggs.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

"He took away your _Nimbus_ for the rest of the _term_?" repeated Ron in horror. "But that's just . . . terrible!" Then he said it again, for to a die-hard Quidditch fan, it bore repeating.

They had met up in the Entrance Hall, Harry had been escorted there by Skull, and they were just heading into the hall for dinner. Harry had found himself the recipient of several black looks and a few of the bigger and ruder members of Gryffindor had shoved him as they went by. But now Harry was surrounded by Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Draco, who had crept up to walk unobtrusively on his left side.

"I'm lucky he didn't pull me off the team altogether, Ron." Harry said.

"He wouldn't do that." Draco demurred. "Kitty-cat McGonagall would throw the hissy fit of the decade if she lost her star player and took away her chance to win the Quidditch Cup."

"Guess you're right, Malfoy," Ron said, snickering a bit at how the Slytherin had referred to his Head. "But he still has you under house arrest too."

"Yes," Harry agreed gloomily. "I'm not allowed to do anything except go to class, eat, and study with you. Oh, and he even gave me a bed time."

Neville's eyes went wide. "That's . . . that's really bad."

"He's treating you like . . . a little kid!" Ron objected.

"Which was what we all behaved like," Hermione reminded them.

They commiserated for a few more minutes about their respective detentions before separating to go and eat.

Tonight's dinner was pot roast with potatoes, carrots, pearl onions, and gravy. There were also thick slices of bread with butter and a green salad. Harry ate a fair amount of his dinner, all of that labor atop the Astronomy Tower had worked up an appetite. Once he had set down his fork, he asked Ron, "Hey, have you heard from Charlie yet about why his friends never showed last night?"

"Not yet," Ron answered, then he swallowed when he spotted a large owl winging its way towards their table. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it wasn't Errol and the owl bore no ominous red envelope. To his surprise, the owl landed in front of him and proffered the envelope. "For me? Thanks!" he took the missive, then fed the owl a piece of meat.

"Who's it from?" asked Hermione.

"A secret admirer?" guessed Fred, smirking.

"Nah. He's too young for any girls to notice," George sniggered.

"But maybe someone's got a crush on him, twin," Fred suggested, leering.

"Shut up!" Ron snapped, his ears turning red. "It's from our brother Charlie." He opened the envelope and read the parchment inside. "He says that . . . he's coming here on Thursday, that he wants to talk to all of us about the dragon incident. He says that he talked to my parents and . . . convinced them not to come here, that he'd deal with me." Ron mopped sweat from his brow.

"Ooh, Ronnie's in trouble!" mocked Fred and George.

Ron ignored them. He'd take Charlie over Molly any day. "Ahh . . . where was I? He says that his friends were delayed in coming to pick up the dragonet because they had to avoid the mama Pendragon. Said she chased them a fair piece."

"I thought it might have been something like that," Harry said.

"Maybe it was better that they didn't come," Neville stated. "Because then they might have been caught with Viv and could have died."

"That's true, Neville." Hermione agreed. "A mother defending her young is the most dangerous of creatures."

Harry could certainly agree with that!

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Sunday:_

That morning, Harry was allowed to sleep till nine, and then Skull escorted him to breakfast. Since it was part of his punishment, Harry knew better than to complain, but even though he enjoyed Skull's company, he still felt like he was in prison, after a fashion. He slid into the seat next to Neville, with Ron on the other side and Hermione across from them.

As usual, a green Nutrient potion appeared beside Harry's plate, and he quickly filled his plate with ham and eggs, fried potatoes, and toast. But he had barely started to enjoy them when a large barn owl came soaring over, clutching a large red envelope in its beak.

Ron's eyes grew round with shock, until he saw that the owl wasn't looking for him . . . but Neville. "Merlin, Nev! Your gran's sent a Howler!"

All conversation at the table ceased as the students swung their heads around to see who the Howler was for. Several of them muttered, "Serves him right!" loudly and grinned in anticipation.

Neville groaned and hid his face in his hands as the owl landed and tossed the envelope at him.

"Better open it, Longbottom, it'll only be worse if you don't," advised Percy.

Neville tore open the envelope and it transmogrified into a large mouth that began to yell in Augusta Longbottom's voice, "NEVILLE FRANCIS LONGBOTTOM! I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES WHEN I RECEIVED THE LETTER FROM MINERVA MCGONAGALL . . . THAT YOU BROKE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RULES AT HOGWARTS TO SAVE A BABY DRAGON. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, BOY? HAVE YOU NOTHING BETWEEN YOUR EARS? YOU COULD HAVE DIED ATOP THAT TOWER, AND THEN WHAT WOULD YOUR MOTHER SAY? I THOUGHT I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT, YOUNG MAN! RULES ARE THERE TO KEEP YOU SAFE AND SHOULD BE OBEYED. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME AND DISGRACE UPON THIS FAMILY. I'M SURPRISED AT YOU, BOY! YOU SHOULD HAVE BETTER SENSE. IF YOUR DAD WERE HERE, HE'D TELL YOU THAT RECKLESS COURAGE SAVES NO LIVES AND IN FACT PUTS PEOPLE IN DANGER, INCLUDING YOURSELF. JUST WAIT TILL YOU GET HOME, BOY! YOU'RE GOING TO BE WEEDING AND MIXING MULCH TILL YOUR ARMS FALL OFF, IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT.

Neville looked as if he wanted sink into the floor.

All about him, the other students laughed and pointed, jeering.

Hermione exchanged horrified glances with Harry. "If that's how wizarding parents punish their kids, then I'm so glad my parents are Muggles," she murmured to Harry.

Harry had never felt sorrier for Neville, and felt an acute rush of gratitude that Severus hadn't ever sent him a Howler. It seemed the ultimate in humiliation.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_10:00 AM_

_Potions classroom_

Hermione was industriously emptying out the potions storage cabinet in the back of Snape's classroom. Many of the beakers, jars, and bags of ingredients had labels that were falling off and some of the ingredients were stale from students not closing the tops of the containers or tying the bags properly. Snape had informed her to make piles of those ingredients that were past their prime and he would replace them.

In addition to merely sorting out the ingredients, Hermione took it one step further and re-organized the cabinet, putting the ingredients in alphabetical order. All of that took nearly two hours and when Severus came to see what she was doing, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Miss Granger, what do you think you are doing?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes hopeful. "I'm . . . err . . . reorganizing the cabinet, professor. Some of the ingredients were switched about and I figured it would be a good idea to fix them and make them easier to find."

"I see. That is the first time I have seen a student take initiative and do more than the assigned detention. Ten points to Gryffindor." Severus said. "You may continue, Miss Granger. Your industriousness is appreciated."

Hermione smiled and continued her sorting. She found that it eased her conscience a little to help the professor this way, considering that he could have been much worse to her during detention.

_12 PM:_

Harry returned to the Astronomy Tower and scrubbed the flagstones with pumice and Magical Mess Remover until his hands stung with repeated immersion in the hot water and from clutching the pumice stone. This time Sinistra did not vent her spleen upon him, for she was far too busy trying to rebuild the crenellations about the Tower. With Severus' assistance, the two wizards managed to replace most of the stone wall, sealing it with magical cement.

They finished half the wall that morning, and Severus promised to return in the afternoon once he had finished supervising his detentions to help again.

Once again Aurora inspected Harry's work, and said, "Good job, Potter. It seems you know the meaning of work."

"Yes, ma'am."

To his surprise, Sinistra gave him a small smile. "I apologize for my temper yesterday, Potter. I was . . . overwrought and looking for someone to blame."

Harry blinked, then said, "It's okay, ma'am. What happened would have put anyone out of sorts."

"I suppose so." The Astronomy professor looked about. "Well, we've made progress and hopefully we'll be able to finish it this evening."

"I shall be here at four, Aurora," Severus promised. Then he vanished the bucket and pumice stone and helped Harry to his feet. "Come, Mr. Potter. You need a hot shower so your muscles don't stiffen and some lunch as well, I'd wager."

"Yes, sir." Harry said.

He was quiet at lunch, for despite winning an apology from Sinistra, he still felt depressed about losing Severus' trust, and wished he knew what to do to regain it. He sensed that it might be a long time before his guardian trusted him out of sight, much less to use good judgment. Somehow, Harry vowed to prove to Severus that he was capable of making good decisions. His only problem now was trying to figure out how to do that.

"You're quiet today," observed Severus.

"I'm just a little tired," Harry admitted, not meeting his eyes.

Severus noted the faint smudges beneath the boy's eyes and concluded that Harry had probably had as restless a night as himself. He had been a spy too long to miss the obvious guilt in the boy's manner and knew Harry was probably fretting to death over disappointing him. Severus disliked making the child miserable, but he had to enforce the fact that Harry had not only deliberately disobeyed him, but lied to him as well. _Perhaps I'm being too harsh on him, but how else is he to learn right from wrong. If I don't take him in hand now, he'll run wild and become worse as the years go by. I refuse to raise James Potter Junior._

"Why don't you drink your tea and then take a rest?" Severus suggested.

Harry just nodded listlessly, finishing it. He didn't want sleep, he wanted things to go back to the way they were before, but since that was as unlikely to happen as snow in August, he would have to deal with it. He retreated to his room, but didn't sleep, simply remained on his bed, staring at the ceiling, one hand stroking the black robe, which he had forgotten to return to Severus.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Ron and Neville served their detentions, which were as unpleasant and smelly as the first ones, but served as a pointed reminder to never lie or risk their lives the way they had done. Draco was required to clean the Slytherin common room from top to bottom, and that hated task was accomplished amid the sneers and jeers of his Housemates, who were not inclined to forgive or forget the fact that he had cost them a whopping fifty points.

In addition to that, McGonagall summoned Harry to the Gryffindor common room for his turn with the dunce cap. The cap was quite stern and Harry winced in shame as it lectured him about obeying rules and bringing honor to his house and setting an example to his peers. "After all, you do have the Potter name to uphold, your mother would be most displeased with how you have risked your life when she fought so hard to save it . . .next time think before you act."

Harry was glad when the ten minutes were up and he could go off to bed in Gryffindor Tower. He was sure his Housemates all hated him, save for Neville, Ron, and Hermione. He had let everyone down—Severus, Skullduggery, Minerva, his House, but especially himself.

_Three days later:_

The five amateur dragon keepers were still receiving the cold shoulder from most of their Housemates. Hermione and Neville had served their own time beneath the dunce cap, and Draco was to have his turn tonight.

Even at Quidditch practice, Harry was treated coldly, with Oliver referring to him as the Seeker when he spoke to him at all. Harry offered to resign, which only made Wood angrier. "How is resigning going to help us win the cup?" he shouted. "Just . . . get up there and fly, blast it! Fly like you did when that bloody Pendragon was after you, Seeker."

Fred and George, never one to let an opportunity to prank slip by, decided to have a bit of fun, for they were tired of all the muttering and glowers. They slipped a few potions into Ron and Draco's morning pumpkin juice, causing Ron's hair to turn half green and half silver for the morning, and Draco's to turn gold and red.

At first the two were inclined to sulk, but once they looked in the mirror and saw how ridiculous they looked, they too started laughing at themselves.

Skull flew loops above them singing, "My, where did you get that hair?"

"I told you they were going to prank us," Ron groaned goodnaturedly.

"They wouldn't dare prank me," Hermione declared.

But she was wrong.

That night, she went to fetch her forgotten herbology text from the table in the common room where she had left it, so she could read before bed, and when she opened it, a loud farting noise accompanied by a foul stench emerged from the pages.

"Ohh, what died, Hermione!" cackled George.

"Yeah, I thought ladies didn't make offensive noises like that," howled Fred.

Hermione blushed and shook her finger at them. "Boys!"

Even Harry and Ron couldn't help chuckling at the girl's indignant expression.

Neville took a swig of his tea, and suddenly began to squawk like a chicken. A rooster's comb sprouted from his head and more laughter followed.

Harry warily bit into his cauldron cake, only to have it suddenly sprout wings, a head, and a tail and spit fiery frosting in his face like a dragon. Wiping frosting from his glasses, Harry giggled, then said, "Nice one, guys. Who thought of it?"

"We both did." The twins replied in unison. "We were sick of everybody griping and moaning."

Harry marveled at how a little laughter, even if it was at his expense, could change the mood of his House so quickly. It was a pity it wasn't to last.

_Thursday:_

Charlie met them down at Hagrid's hut, after first getting permission from Minerva and Severus to give the five a talk about what to do when you found an abandoned dragon egg . . . or any other kind of "abandoned" wild creature.

Hagrid set out tea and cakes, though none of his guests were very hungry. They were, however, eager to hear what Charlie had to say about their dragon raising efforts.

Charlie was tall and muscular, he was wearing a sleeveless leather vest studded with silver knots and leather pants tucked into knee high boots. He also had a short black half-cloak and a silver medallion stamped with a flying dragon, the symbol of the dragon keeper. On the obverse were his name and the name of the reserve where he worked. His hair was long and drawn back into a tail with a Celtic clasp, he was tanned deeply and a long scar wended its way up his left bicep. He carried a baton tucked into his belt, his wand, and a pouch of raw steaks. Inserted into his left boot top was a long knife. He had bright blue eyes which normally sparkled with bonhomie, but today they were serious.

He sat at the table, carefully sipping his tea, before clearing his throat. "I know all of you fancy yourselves amateur dragon tamers, including you, Hagrid. I'm sure you all thought you were doing good by taking that Pendragon egg from where you found it and hatching it and then caring for the dragonet. You probably thought you were saving her life, am I right?"

"She could have been eaten by a wyvern or something if we hadn't," Harry said.

Charlie sighed. "While that might have been true, it's unlikely. You see, a dragon egg is very difficult to crack, and a wyvern prefers to eat carrion over anything else. So the egg was probably perfectly safe where it was."

"But what about keeping it warm?" Hermione pointed out.

"A dragon's not a snake, Hermione. They're warmbloods." Charlie said. "Chances are, if you had left the egg alone, the mother dragon might have found it soon. While you all meant well, trying to raise that dragonet without the professional supervision of a keeper was a big mistake."

"How so, Charlie?" Hagrid asked. "We followed the tips in the book from the library." The big man handed Charlie the dragon breeding books and the book on how to feed and care for dragons.

Charlie glanced at the books and nodded. "While those will give you general instructions on what to do for a dragonet, they're no substitute for a true dragon keeper. And any dragon keeper worth his wand would have told you two things straight off. One, never ever touch a dragon egg that you find in the wild, even if you think it's been abandoned. Why? Because the mother might have gone away for awhile in order to lead poachers away from the egg, and when she returns she expects her egg to be there. Two, you can do more harm than good by raising a dragon in captivity."

"How can that be? We helped feed and care for Viv and taught her all kinds of things." Draco objected. "We didn't hurt her or lock her in a cage. We were even going to teach her to fly when she was old enough."

"That's all well and good, Draco, but the fact is you didn't have a permit to raise a dragon, or a place to keep her where she couldn't hurt you or herself when she grew bigger. Like I said before, your hearts were in the right place, but you have to understand that a dragon is a wild creature, meant to fly free. The Pendragon is the rarest of all species, and the most independent. There's a reason why no Pendragon has ever been raised in captivity. Because they can't stand being confined, and they sicken and die. They're a proud breed and they bend their head to no man.

"Also, by raising Viv here, among people, you could have repressed her natural instincts to fear man, making her too used to getting fed and unable to survive on her own. No dragon keeper ever keeps a dragon birthed in the wild past a certain age, because doing so will blunt their natural instincts and make them vulnerable to poachers and dragon slayers. Had Viv remained with her mum, she would have taught Viv to be wary of people, and to fly or hide when they came near."

"So . . . you're saying we were wrong in making her our friend?" Harry said.

"In a way, yes. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you loved her and would never harm her, but you couldn't make a pet out of her. And that's what you would have had to do if you kept her for much longer. You could have never released her back into the wild, she would have been easy prey for any slayer or have starved to death because she couldn't hunt for herself.

"You could have also caused the mama Pendragon to kill her own baby, because she couldn't recognize it as hers, since she wasn't there when it hatched. A mother bonds with her baby at the time of the first hatching, and since Viv couldn't because she was with you . . . well, let's just say you were lucky that mama was smarter than average, and she knew her baby anyway. Otherwise, she might have eaten Viv instead of rescuing her."

"_Eaten her?_" Hermione's eyes were as big as saucers. "Her own _baby_? But that's . . . disgusting and . . . barbaric!"

Charlie spread his hands. "Hey, it happens sometimes. Not often but . . .they're not people, Hermione. They're animals, predators, and if they're hungry enough . . . they'll eat whatever they can find. Survival of the fittest. It's not a pretty picture, but then not everything in nature is. If you're old enough to try and raise a dragon, you're old enough to understand the truth about them, the good as well as the bad."

Hagrid nodded. "I know about that. Acromantula will eat their young'un's too, if they're too weak or small t' defend themselves against their nestmates. So will wyverns, if their young are crippled or sommat."

"But that's cruel! To kill a baby because it's smaller than the others." Hermione burst out.

"Actually, it's not. It's merciful, because most times that offspring will die a slow death by starvation. It's nature's way of winnowing the weak from the strong, girl. The strong survive and make stronger offspring, thus keeping the species alive." Charlie explained patiently. "By doing what you did, you not only endangered yourselves, but Viv as well. Because a dragon accustomed to people loses the instinct to defend itself, as well as a healthy fear of people. And if the right circumstances present itself, she could turn on people and become deadly."

"I don't think Viv would do that," Neville said. "She was really cute and she never really hurt us on purpose."

"Not now, sure, but Longbottom, you're forgetting that cute baby would have grown up someday into a creature bigger than a castle, and stomp you flat without meaning to." Charlie dug into a pocket and produced a wrinkled old copy of _The Daily Prophet_. "Here. I want you all to take a look at this. This is what happens when people with good intentions interfere with Mother Nature."

They all read the article spread out in the middle of the table. The paper was dated over fifteen years ago and the headline read **Pendragon Wanders into House and Attacks Owners; Had to Be Put Down.**

_Around six PM on April 13th, 1975, a half-grown female Pendragon broke down the door of the Pritchard house and proceeded to ransack the place looking for food. The family claims they had no warning that a dragon was in the area, the creature just smashed the door in and proceeded to eat an entire roast on the table where the family—mum, dad, and two kids—had just sat down for dinner. Not being sated, it then started tearing up the place, roaring and flaming when it found nothing more to eat. _

_It would have turned upon the terrified family in its quest for food had not a team of Dragon Keepers and Aurors arrived and subdued the beast. The Keepers regretfully decided to put down the young Pendragon because, though it had not harmed the family, it had the potential to do great harm again when it became hungry or angry and it could not be trusted not to seek out humans and next time they might not be so lucky. Mrs. Pritchard claimed that the dragon just walked in the house, showing no fear whatsoever of humans. Profession dragon experts speculate that the dragon was raised illegally in captivity and then released into the wild, because no wild dragon would ever willingly approach a human that closely unless raised around them. This was a tragedy that could have been averted, says Keeper Lopez, if whoever had stolen this egg had given it to certified handlers to hatch, instead of trying to play dragon handler. There is a right and a wrong way to deal with a wild creature, and the sad result of this night's work illustrates the importance of keeping a wild creature wild, as nature intended. If you take a wild creature in your home, you must then assume responsibility for it forever, or else you are committing murder of an innocent creature. _

"Merlin, but I never thought o' it like that!" exclaimed Hagrid. "Poor confused beastie!"

"Yes. Do you see now what I'm getting at?" the dragon keeper asked, his tone soft.

"That's so . . . horrible!" sniffled Hermione, dashing away tears.

"That could have been Viv," Draco murmured sadly.

"Why couldn't they have just . . . brought her to a reserve?" asked Ron.

"Think about it, Ron. The reserve's just a huge tract of land where the dragons can breed and hunt in the wild. We monitor them and help them if they become hurt or sick, and sometimes we take the orphan ones and raise them to ride, but not all dragons can be tamed that way. Even with those that are . . . there's always a risk that they could turn feral even with the spells. And a Pendragon's magic resistance is strong, the spells of control and calming wouldn't hold her. She was old enough to fly and yet still couldn't hunt in the wild, that's why she came into the house, because she was used to being fed. There's no guarantee she would have stayed on the reserve, and the keepers couldn't take the chance on a rogue flying off into the countryside. Next time she might have killed, and once a dragon has a taste for human blood . . .it would have been a disaster. You have any idea what a rampaging rogue dragon can do, kid? The last one killed hundreds of people and wrecked half of Cornwall before it was slain and that was over fifty years ago. That's why the Ministry outlawed dragon breeding."

"Charlie, you don't think that Viv could turn rogue, do you?" Harry cried, terror coursing through him. Had he doomed the dragonet by his hasty decision?

"Well, you only had the dragonet about a month, correct?" asked Charlie.

"Yeah, about that."

"And now she's reunited with her mother, so her mum will teach her all she needs to know about avoiding humans and how to survive in the wild. A month is about the longest we'd ever keep a dragonet before releasing her into the wild with an adult mentor. Once they've graduated to solid food and can stalk and pounce, they're ready to go back. That way they won't remember much about their early years."

"Then Viv will forget us?" cried Neville, dismayed.

"It's better if she does, though there are no guarantees," Charlie said. "The important thing is that her mum accepted her and will protect her. Although I can't figure out how in hell a Pendragon egg so near hatching got put here. Mother Pendragons are the fiercest things known to wizardkind when it comes to defending their nests."

"Maybe she was Confunded?" Harry speculated. "That's what Uncle Sev thinks."

"He could be right, but it would have to be an awfully powerful spell cast by a powerful wizard to keep her under that long, keep her from remembering her egg . . .Whoever did that is no amateur poacher, but a dangerous lawbreaker." Charlie said grimly. "I just hope we can find the bastard and put him away for good." He stood and picked up the article. "I hope you all understand what you did was very wrong and you never touch another egg again." He eyed Ron sternly. "Because if I ever catch you doing something like that again, little brother, you won't have to worry about Mum tanning your hide, because I'll do it for her. Or any of the rest of you kids. Got me?"

They all nodded solemnly, shaken by Charlie's revelations.

"All right, enough lectures. Why don't you all come on over and meet my buddy, Incendria? She's a Welsh Green, bred for generations by the Keepers of Romania to be our riding dragons, and she likes to be fed a nice juicy raw steak as a treat . . . If you're quiet and behave, I'll let you all give her a scratch and feed her."

The five youngsters eagerly lined up and followed Charlie out to the pumpkin patch, where a bored Incendria waited, blowing smoke rings over Hagrid's hut.

After letting them all pet her and feed her treats for being so patient, Charlie mounted her and gave her a tap with his baton, signaling her to fly up. They circled once and then soared into the air until they were out of sight.

It was a very subdued bunch of children that made their way back to the castle that afternoon.

That night at supper, McGonagall sent round a note to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Draco. It stated that they would be serving their detention tomorrow night at seven o'clock and were to meet Filch in the Entrance Hall. Further details would be given out then.

"I wonder how bad it's going to be?" whispered Ron.

"It can't be any worse than Professor Snape's detentions, can it?" asked Neville worriedly.

"No. Least I don't think so," Harry asserted, though he felt a quiver run down his spine.

"I've heard stories about Filch," Hermione murmured. "That he's really mean and nasty. I'd rather take another detention with Professor Snape. Filch gives me the heebee jeebies."

The three boys all agreed, but knew they had no choice in how their detention was served. They would simply have to make the best of it.

Friday night came, and they met Filch in the Entrance Hall. To their shock, they found out he was not going to be supervising the detention, Hagrid was.

"He's gonna be takin' ye into the Forbidden Forest."

"At night?" Draco gasped. "But what for?"

"Punishment, o'course!" snorted Filch. "Who knows, ye might get eaten by a manticore. Or an acromantula, if you're lucky!"

"That's not funny, Filch," Draco scowled.

"I ain't laughing, Malfoy," sneered the caretaker. "You just mind what I told ya an' watch yer step. Otherwise your rich daddy and mummy might be celebrating yer funeral!"

He laughed mockingly, and Harry felt a cold chill race down his spine. The Forbidden Forest. For some reason the name made him shiver and recall a nightmare he'd had long ago about blood on the ground and a sinister shape looming over a unicorn. It scared him, but he refused to think about it anymore. He was not a coward and it had been a dream anyway. He would watch his step and do as Hagrid instructed and that would be that. Or so he hoped.

**A/N: Special thanks go to Alethea27 for helping me with the prank ideas and to almightyswot for giving me ideas about Charlie's speech. **

**How did you like the parts with Severus, Harry, and Skull and Sev's robe? And Charlie's little lecture? Do you like these long chapters? Please read and review!**


	24. Stalker

**24**

**Stalker**

Filch led them all outside into the courtyard, a nasty sneer upon his face. Just then Hagrid came stomping up the path, armed with a crossbow, quarrels, and a large hunting knife in his boot. Said knife would have been a short sword for a normal human. Fang trotted along by his side, panting gruffly.

"Took ya long enough, Filch," Hagrid grunted as he halted in front of them. "I bin waitin' most half an hour. What kept ya?"

"I was telling these little brats about what they could expect in the forest," said the caretaker.

"Bin lecturing them have ya?" Hagrid scowled. "That's not yer place, Argus."

"Somebody has to put the fear of God into these brats, Hagrid. The teachers, even Snape, are too soft on them. They need to be shaking in their boots—"

"Argus, do yerself a favor and just mind yer own business." Hagrid told him.

"I'll be back at dawn," Filch snorted, adding nastily, "for what's left of you." He then stalked back into the castle.

"Come along, you lot," Hagrid ordered. "First we'll go to my place, get some lanterns, then we'll go into the forest."

They followed him meekly down the path to his hut, and waited while he retrieved three stout oil lanterns from a shelf in his hut. He handed one to Ron, and another to Hermione.

"This way," he gestured with one large hand towards the track leading into the woods.

Neville gulped and murmured, "How come we're going in here when it's dangerous? Why couldn't McGonagall make us write lines or something like that? I . . . don't want to go in there."

"Buck up, Longbottom. Yeh aren't supposed to like getting' punished. Yeh done wrong an' now yeh got to pay the piper. Now quit yer complainin', hear? Writing lines! Bah! What good's that goin' ta do ya? Yer t'come with me an' help me find an' injured unicorn. One's bin hurt pretty bad, bleedin' all over, an' now I got to find it and maybe put it out o' its misery. Yeh wanted to help wild critters, well now's yer chance. McGonagall thought this would teach ya responsibility, show ya that sometimes the best thing ya can do fer an injured critter is t' put it down. It's a hard lesson, but necessary."

As he lectured, Hagrid led them right into the forest. Once over the border and into the woods, he halted and said, "Listen close. The unicorn's in a bad way, that's why we got to help it, however we can. I'm gonna divide us up into two groups. Firs' one's gonna be me, Hermione, and Malfoy. The other's gonna be Harry, Ron, and Neville. Harry, you can take Fang."

Harry took the big dog's lead, glancing about warily. He disliked the dark, always had, since his poor vision caused him night blindness. Not only that, but there was a . . . sinister feeling about these woods. Harry shuddered slightly, he did not want to find out what lived in their depths, but could not stop thinking about the many dangerous creatures that dwelled within the forest. For some reason, he kept recalling two lines from Robert Frost's poem _Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening_. Severus had read him a few of the poems in the leather bound book Harry had given him. _The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep . . ._ Harry couldn't say the woods were lovely, but they certainly were dark and deep. He also had a promise to keep, made to Severus, to accept his punishment and behave himself. And he had a feeling that before the night was through, he would have miles to go before he slept.

He squatted down beside his friends while Hagrid showed them the silvery liquid splashed upon the ground which was unicorn blood. It reminded him of liquid mercury.

"Now, if ya find the unicorn, send up green sparks. If ya find sommat else, or run into trouble, send up red sparks." Hagrid instructed. "Practice it now, so's ya know how."

They all practiced the simple charm, until Hagrid said it was enough and sent Harry, Fang, Neville, and Ron off down the right hand path. Then he turned and went down the right fork trailed by Hermione and Draco.

Because Ron had the lantern, he led the way, trying to follow the scattered droplets of blood. Harry, Fang, and Neville stuck close behind him. As they crept through the eerie forest, listening as best they could to the myriad insects, night birds, and owls, Harry was reminded of the jungle in Kipling's _The Jungle Book_. Dark and mysterious, it had been, and like the Forbidden Forest, unkind to small boys. Harry suddenly wished he had Bagheera the panther or Baloo the bear walking beside him. Then he would feel safe and protected. He gripped his wand tighter. He had the oddest feeling that something . . . or someone . . . was following him.

But each time he glanced back, the trail behind him was empty.

Harry felt the back of his neck prickle warningly. But he stared straight ahead, trying to pick out the spots of unicorn blood, pretending he was Mowgli trailing an injured water buffalo, and wishing the night was shorter. Fang pulled on his lead, causing Harry to stumble.

He banged into Neville, who squeaked loudly and jumped about a foot. "Merlin! Harry! You almost scared me to death."

"Sorry," Harry apologized. He flushed, thinking that Bagheera would have cuffed him a good one for being so clumsy. Mowgli wouldn't have been.

"Shh, you two!" Ron hissed. "I thought I heard something."

"Where? Where?" Neville babbled, turning around in a panic.

"I don't know!" Ron cried. "Quit spinning like a top!" He reached out and grabbed the back of Neville's robes.

Neville, thinking some monster had grabbed him in the dark, screamed and shot up red sparks from his wand.

"What did you do that for?" asked Ron irritably.

"I didn't mean to, Ron. But you scared me. I thought it was a . . . a bugbear or an orc." Neville hung his head. "I'm sorry I'm such a coward."

"You're not," Harry reassured him. "This forest is creepy and I won't blame you for being afraid."

"Me neither," Ron said. The moon cast a pale shadow over his face, making his complexion ghost white.

Just then Hagrid crashed through the brush. "What's wrong? Ya all right?"

"Yeah. It was a false alarm," Ron said. "I grabbed Neville by mistake and he thought I was something else and shot up sparks."

"Humph! Next time be careful." Hagrid scolded. "An' remember to stay on the path, otherwise a manticore might think you're a midnight snack."

Then the gamekeeper turned and headed back towards Hermione and Draco.

Fang looked after his master and whined.

Harry patted the big dog's head. "Easy, boy. You won't have to be separated from Hagrid for too much longer. Just be patient."

Ron huffed. "Harry, quit talking to that dumb dog and concentrate on tracking the unicorn."

Harry was about to say something snide, but just then an idea struck him. "Hey, Fang could track down somebody. Why don't we let him try and track the unicorn?"

"That's a brilliant idea, Harry!" exclaimed Neville.

Harry grinned. "The sooner we find the poor unicorn, the better." He stroked Fang then said sharply, "Fang, trail! Trail the poor creature down." He pointed at the silvery unicorn blood.

Fang obediently sniffed the blood and barked once. His tail wagged, thwacking Harry's leg.

"Good boy," Harry said. "Go and find the unicorn, Fang," he urged. "Find it!" He prayed the dog could understand what he wanted. Fang was a boarhound, and all dogs could smell a trail better than people, Harry reasoned. Fang had been in the forest before, Hagrid hunted with the dog a lot, and Harry was almost certain the dog could track their quarry. He wondered why Hagrid had not thought to use the dog before, then shrugged. Sometimes people missed what was right under their noses. Skull had told him once that most people thought animals were stupid compared to humans. Dumb beasts, and the raven had hissed in outrage as he spoke the words. Harry knew better, though. For years, he had been friends with stray dogs and Mrs. Figgs cats. Any of them were smarter than Dudley.

He repeated the command to the dog, who whined and sniffed the ground obediently.

"Harry, for heaven's sake!" Ron said exasperatedly. "Fang's a stupid dog, he doesn't even know what you're saying. And he's a coward, Hagrid even admits that."

"No, he's not, Ron." Harry disagreed. "He's smarter than any of you think. See?" He indicated where the dog was smelling and now straining at the lead. "I think he's got the scent. Go, boy! Find it!" Fang barked, and danced eagerly at the end of the lead. "Atta boy!"

Harry took two steps forward and Fang trotted away, pulling the small boy along. "C'mon, Ron and Neville! He's taking me somewhere."

"Yeah, on a wild Snark hunt," Ron snorted, but he followed his friend and Fang.

"Maybe Harry's right," Neville remarked, though he looked uncertain. "Anything's better than standing here."

Harry jogged after the eager dog, thinking, _Ha! I knew it! Fang's no dummy. He can track better than we can. _He grinned as he raced after the boarhound. _Miles to go before I sleep. Maybe so, Mr. Frost, but at least we'll find the poor unicorn before this night is over._

Little did he know they would find more than just the unicorn. Behind him, the wind picked up, gusting through the trees eerily. Ron and Neville scurried along after Harry, their clumsy footfalls masking the presence of the watcher in the shadows, who trailed them noiselessly.

Meanwhile, Draco and Hermione walked briskly after Hagrid, their wands lit so they could see the path before them. The big man seemed unafraid of being in the forest at night, he seemed comfortable within the great trees. In contrast, Draco and Hermione started at the smallest sound and nearly jumped out of their skin when an owl hooted close by. The trail of silvery blood glinted in the moonlight like a metallic ribbon, and Hagrid followed it almost without effort.

"Poor beast. Sommat got ya good." He murmured.

"Do you think it was a werewolf?" asked Draco.

"Could be. Then again, most werewolves avoid unicorns like the plague. Their horns can hurt 'em, see? A unicorn's horn is proof against all poisons, can heal any wound short of death, an' is purer than silver."

"Well, if it wasn't a werewolf, then what did this?" asked Hermione. "What sort of creature would dare harm a unicorn?"

"A mad one," Draco muttered. "Everyone knows that killing a unicorn brings a curse down on you."

"A curse?"

"Aye, lass. Y'see, a unicorn is the purest magical creature there is, an' killing one an' drinking its blood will give you a kind of immortality, but it's one that dooms ya to a half-life. As soon as a drop of blood passes yer lips, yer cursed forever. 'Course sommat like that might not matter to . . . to one who only wants a body an'doesn't about his soul or . . . ya know what I mean?"

Hermione and Draco swallowed hard and nodded. Then the girl said, very softly, "Then you think that . . . You-Know-Who is . . . behind the death of the unicorns?"

Hagrid heaved a sigh. "'Tis possible, girl. I think his body died that night, but whatever passes for a soul inside him didn't. Somehow, he's found a way to come back. Guess it don't matter much how or why, only that he can be stopped."

"Stopped how?" Draco asked. "Anyone who can cheat death like that . . ."

"There's got to be a way. I don't know it, but maybe Dumbledore might. Or even Professor Snape."

Draco was betting on Snape, after all Dumbledore had fumbled the Snitch several times when it came to getting rid of the Dark Lord, and the blond boy doubted the old man would come through this time.

"Or maybe Madam Pince might have known," declared Hermione suddenly.

"Madam Pince?"Draco stared at her.

"Well, yes! She's a member of the Society of Ravens, she must know a lot of old magic, Maybe that's why someone tried to kill her. Because she knew too much. Really, Malfoy, it's a common motive for murder." The brown-haired girl stated.

"Ya could be right, Hermione." Hagrid nodded.

There came a crackling sound in the brush up ahead. Before the two students could do anything, Hagrid had grabbed them and put them behind a tree. "Quiet! Not a sound!" he ordered, drawing his crossbow. "Come out, whoever ya are! I've got a quarrel trained right at ya."

There came the sound of hoofbeats and then a large half-man and half-horse emerged from the brush, brandishing a spear. The centaur had long reddish blond hair that flowed down his back, and his horse coat was the same color, save for a white blanket across his hindquarters, dappled with brown spots. His tail slapped against his hooves and he eyed Hagrid sternly.

Hagrid lowered his crossbow. "Oh, it's you, Ronan."

The centaur tossed his head. "What brings you here at this hour, Hagrid?"

"Me and my students—ya can come out now Draco an' Hermione—are tracking an injured unicorn. Have ya seen one like that anywheres?"

"Mars is bright tonight," answered the centaur, his eyes fixed upon the heavens. "It signals a battle or something violent. Not a good sign. You ought to take your students and leave, Hagrid. The forest is not safe tonight."

"'Fraid I can't do that. The unicorn's mortal hurt, least I can do is put an' end to its suffering."

Ronan sighed. "As always, the choice is yours. It's a terrible thing to witness, the death of innocence. They are always the first to fall." Then the centaur saluted him and turned away. He galloped off, his hooves making the ground tremble.

Hagrid turned to face Draco and Hermione. "Well, guess that's that. Most centaurs never give yeh a straight answer. I think it went this way . . ."

Before he could continue down the path, there came a bloodcurdling scream from the right.

Hermione felt her heart seize. "Harry! Something's happened to him!"

Hagrid nodded. "Stay here! I'm goin' t'see what's wrong."

He took three giant strides and disappeared through the trees.

Pale and shaken, Hermione clung to Draco's hand, and to her surprise he didn't sneer at her, but clutched her fingers tightly.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Fang led the boys right to the dead unicorn. Panting triumphantly, Fang sprawled on Harry's feet after bringing them to where the unicorn lay, a crumpled delicate ivory creature, broken and bleeding all over.

The sight brought tears to Harry's eyes. The unicorn was among the worst sights he'd ever seen, being second only to his mother dying. It struck a chord within him and for a few moments he could only stand and stare at the beast and wish he could make it live again. It wasn't fair that such a magnificent creature should be dead, never to run across the grass and chase the wind ever again. Behind him he heard Neville sniffle and even Ron groaned.

Harry found himself becoming angry as well, that anyone could destroy something so . . . innocent and wild. He stared at the limp form hard, and thought he saw it move slightly. He thrust Fang's lead at Ron and started to move closer . . . he just needed to make sure . . .

Suddenly there came a sharp snapping sound, as of twigs breaking, and Harry froze, his eyes darting back and forth. From out of the brush on the opposite side came a hunched figure in a black cloak. It scuttled across the ground and seized the dead unicorn by the neck.

A ghostly face with bright red lips and long fangs lifted towards them for an instant, then it lowered its head and began to feed, silvery streams of blood trickling down its chin.

The boys watched, transfixed in horror, unable to look away.

The miasma of evil flowed over and about them, freezing them to the spot, as the sickening horror of the deed was replayed in their minds, branded forever into their consciousness.

Harry could feel his heart racing as he screamed silently. _No! It's my dream! My dream has come true! There's a vampire and it's . . .feeding upon the unicorn._

As if feeling eyes upon it, the vampire raised its head . . . and the cold black eyes met Harry's.

Three things happened then.

Harry felt his scar explode in pain, and he screamed and fell to his knees, feeling as if his head were about to split open.

Fang let out a terrible howl, filled with sheer terror, and took off through the trees back the way they had come, dragging Ron along with him.

Neville let out a wail that could have put a banshee to shame, but was too paralyzed to move.

The scream jerked Harry back to himself, allowing him to conquer the pain and he yelled, "Run, Neville! Get out of here! _Run_!"

Harry's desperate order broke the stalemate, and Neville gathered up what remained of his courage and bolted.

Only Harry remained, stricken and trembling, as the vampire bared its fangs and hissed at him. It started to get to its feet, its flesh gleaming moon bright with the unicorn's stolen vitality. Harry knew he was finished. This time it wasn't a dream, and he could not wake up. And there was no Severus or Skullduggery to save him. This time he would die.

Suddenly there came a blinding flash of reddish light. At the same instant, Harry felt a sharp blow on the back of the head. Then he was falling . . .falling a long long way into blackness. _Severus, help me!_ was his last coherent thought before he surrendered to the suffocating darkness.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Sometime later:_

His eyelids fluttered, fragile as a moth's wings, then opened slowly. He squinted in pain at the light, why was it so bright? He blinked hard, lifted his hand to dash away the tears. He did not know, for one awful moment, who he was or even where he was. Then memory hit with a rush. He was Harry Potter and he had almost been killed by . . . a vampire. . .

He made a brief attempt to sit up, but the pain in his head was too much and he could barely move his head off the pillow.

"Ah, so you're awake," murmured an unfamiliar voice.

Footsteps, light and even, caused him to turn his head. Through blurry eyes he caught a glimpse of a tall figure wearing a midnight blue robe and a flash of pale hair. He squinted, realizing only now that he was lying on something soft . . . a mattress . . . and the light came from a lamp upon the table next to his bed. "Who . . . are you?"

There came a soft chuckle, then the blurry figure leaned over him and held out an object.

His glasses.

As he groped for them, the blue figure spoke. "Don't you remember me, Harry? No? Well, it _has_ been a long time."

Harry slipped his glasses on over his nose, his green eyes lifting to see the figure hovering over him. "Who are you, and where am I?"

A deep hood shrouded the figure's face, all save for a lone lock of bright gold hair. But he knew from the sound of the voice that this person was not familiar and that this was a woman. Slender hands came up to grasp the hood and toss it back, then the stranger smiled and cooed, "Why, child, don't be afraid. You're home where you belong. I am the Fifth Marauder . . . your godmother."

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I hope you like this chapter. Who do you think the Fifth Marauder is? 100 House points and a hug from Severus to the one who guesses right.**


	25. The Fifth Marauder

**24**

**The Fifth Marauder**

It was a few moments before Hagrid could make sense of what the terrified Neville and Ron were saying. "What do ya mean, there was a vampire drinking unicorn blood?" Fang began to bark loudly. "Fang, quiet!" the big man snapped and the dog ceased, whimpering.

"We . . . we were following Fang . . . an' he led us right to the unicorn . . ." panted Ron. "And then . . . and then . . . the vampire came . . ."

"It turned and _looked_ at us!" Neville added, his eyes huge in his moon round face. "I was . . . never so scared in my life, Hagrid! I . . . I couldn't move! Then Harry yelled _run_ . . . and I did . . . I ran and ran . . ."

"Fang dragged me outta there," Ron added. He mopped sweat from his brow.

Hermione was peering about the trees anxiously. After hearing what the two boys had encountered, she was more afraid than ever. She resolved to never be caught out of bed again if this was the standard punishment McGonagall gave out! Abruptly, she realized something the others had forgotten in their mad dash to find Hagrid. "Um . . . where's Harry?"

Everyone gaped at each other as they suddenly realized Harry was not among them.

"He . . . err . . . I thought he was right behind me," Neville stuttered in alarm.

"What if he got lost?" Hermione gasped. "What if he's still out there and the vampire's hunting him?"

"All o' yeh, follow me. I'm going ta lead ya out of the forest and onto the school grounds. Then yeh go back an' tell Professor McGonagall that Harry's missing." Hagrid instructed. "I'll go back an' search for Harry with Fang. Let's move!"

"What about Professor Snape?" Draco queried as he ran quickly after the gamekeeper. "He needs to know too, he's Harry's guardian."

"Uh, yeah, righ'," Hagrid sighed. "He oughta know . . . even if he's gonna skin me an' hang me out t'dry."

"It wasn't your fault, Hagrid," Neville consoled the big man. "Nobody ever expected a vampire to be in there."

"Or that Harry wouldn't have sense enough to run away from it," Draco added, snorting. "Gryffindors! You show your bravery at the stupidest times."

"Harry's not stupid!" Ron snapped. "He probably was trying to distract it so Nev and I could get away."

Draco made a dismissive gesture. "Whatever, Weasley."

"Hush yer quarreling now," Hagrid ordered bluntly. "Got enough trouble brewin' without yeh adding to it."

The two subsided after that reprimand, and hurried in Hagrid's wake down the path leading out of the forest. Their hearts were cold in their chest wondering what had happened to their friend.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

_Snape's quarters:_

Skullduggery awoke feeling a strange sort of magic quivering through him. He fluffed his feathers and shook himself, gliding from his perch in Severus' bedroom over to the cherrywood four-poster where the professor slept. The posts were intricately carved with vines and magical plants and the headboard bore a raven in flight, which Severus had added after bonding with his familiar. The bed was large enough to hold three, a fact that had always amused the raven, and he often teased the solitary Potions Master about having a bed large enough for a wife and kids, if he ever allowed himself to get close enough to a woman to fall in love. "You're not exactly a dried up old man, Sev," Skull usually pointed out. "You still have plenty of years of loving in you, if only you'd quit hiding down here surrounding yourself with cauldron fumes and dried newt's tongues. That sort of thing might put a woman off."

"Then she's not the woman for me, Skullduggery," came the sharp response. "Now quit playing matchmaker bird. You're hardly one to talk. Where's _your_ mate?"

"Out there somewhere," Skullduggery said flippantly. "We shall meet when it's time."

"And the same goes for me," snorted Severus, turning the raven's words back upon him neatly.

Skull fluttered to land on the pillow next to Severus' head. The professor slept peacefully for once, without tossing and turning or muttering and moaning in his sleep, his emerald comforter wrapped closely about his lean frame. The stuffed ashwinder rested beside Snape's head, upon the pillow Skullduggery perched on. They were thick ones, plump with griffindown. "I hate to wake him," the raven said conversationally to the plush snake. "But he'd pluck me and boil me in a cauldron if I left him without letting him know I'm going to be gone for a day or two. Pity, for this is the first decent sleep he's had in a week, after all the kid's put him through." The raven heaved a gusty sigh, then trilled softly, "Sev, wake up! Severus!"

Severus coughed and turned over, his hair spread out across the pillow, one hand beneath it.

"Severus, wake up! I have something important to tell you!" his familiar warbled.

Abruptly, the Potion Master sat up, his wand flying into his hand. He rolled over, wand lifted, ready to hex whoever had broken his sleep so rudely.

Skullduggery hopped backwards, crooning, "Easy, Sev. It's just me."

"Skullduggery? Why are you disturbing me? I need a few hours of sleep before I start brewing my second batch of potions tonight," Severus grumbled.

"I wouldn't have unless it was very important," the raven said, looking rather apologetic.

"Go on." Severus sighed, concealing a yawn. He lowered his wand, placing it next to him.

"I've been summoned."

"Summoned? By whom?"

"Thunderbird. He's called me to fulfill my debt," answered Skull softly.

"Your debt?"

"Yes. I incurred a debt to him when I called on him for assistance with the storm spirits at the Quidditch match." Skullduggery explained. "He told me I would owe him a favor and now he's calling in my marker, Sev."

"Right now?"

"Yes. Thunderbird cares not for convenience. I must go, Sev."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Probably to America. It's where he makes his home."

"You're going to fly to America?" scowled Severus.

"No. I'll use the portal he provided." Skull replied, jerking his head towards the shimmering rainbow circle that now hung in the air, crackling with lambent magical energy.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. Not more than a day, I'd guess. But I wanted to tell you before I left. So you didn't have a nervous breakdown when you found me gone." Skull said impudently.

"Nervous breakdown?" Severus rolled his eyes. "That'll be the day. I'll finally get a rest from your tongue, Master Impudence!" Then he reached out to caress the raven. "Be careful, Skullduggery."

"Always, Sev," his familiar murmured, rubbing his beak along the Potion Master's cheek.

"Fly safe, you rogue."

"Quit worrying, Sev. You'll make your hair gray. As MacArthur said, _I shall return_." Skull squawked, then after a playful nip on the ear, the raven flew through the portal.

"Wretched bird!" swore his wizard, rubbing his ear absently. "One of these days, Skullduggery . . . a new featherduster will be hanging on the wall." He shook his finger at the portal just before it vanished.

Then, wide awake and unable to fall back to sleep, Severus rose, put on his slippers, and decided to make himself a cup of cocoa. He checked his watch and noticed that it was almost nine o'clock. Harry should be done with his detention right around now, and be coming home. He decided to wait up and see if the boy needed anything before bed, he wondered what Minerva had made the five miscreants do, as she had not decided how she was going to punish them when last he discussed the detention with her yesterday. Hopefully it was something sufficiently unpleasant and memorable.

He started the fire in the fireplace with a soft spoken "_Incendio!_", then set about making himself a pot of cocoa. He used the coffee pot to steam the milk gently, placing the pot upon the iron spider, which hung upon a hook over the flames. The spider was a cast iron apparatus that had eight legs like a spider and a flat platform on top for heating things such as pans and pots. Its legs rested in the embers of the fire and it hung upon a hook attached to a cast iron arm that could be moved back and forth into the fireplace.

Once the milk was sufficiently heated, Severus added several heaping teaspoons of dark cocoa powder and some sugar, though not enough to make it overly sweet, he liked his hot cocoa a little bitter, like dark chocolate. He stirred, sipped it, then set the pot upon a trivet and relaxed in his recliner.

Despite his cavalier dismissal of the raven, he found himself missing the insolent rascal, and picked up a periodical to read, figuring he only had about ten minutes before Harry returned from his detention, hopefully chastened enough not to risk his life foolishly again.

He had finished his first cup of cocoa and was contemplating having a second cup when there came a rather loud pounding upon his door. Scowling fiercely at whatever ill-mannered brat had dared to assault his door in such a fashion, Severus gestured and the door jerked open. "What is the meaning of this ruckus?" he demanded snarkily.

In tumbled Draco and Neville, both boys were red-faced and their robes were askew. They picked themselves up from the floor and stood, looking as if they were facing a viper in its lair.

"Professor, you've got to help us!" Neville began, his voice hoarse. "We . . . can't find Harry!"

"He's lost somewhere in the forest, sir," added Draco helpfully. "There was a vampire and it attacked Longbottom and Weasley, or something like that."

"No, it attacked the unicorn!" Neville corrected.

Severus held up a hand. "Silence! Come in here, sit down, and start at the beginning." He ordered sternly. "I can't make sense of your babbling, except for the fact that something has happened to Mr. Potter. I was under the assumption that you were all serving detention tonight under Professor McGonagall."

The two boys complied, scurrying over to sit on the sofa.

"Sir, Professor McGonagall assigned us detention in the forest with Hagrid, we were supposed to help him track down an injured unicorn and put it out of its misery if necessary . . ." Draco began. He recited what had happened up until the time they had separated, then Neville took over.

"Professor, we came back as fast as we could. Ron and Hermione went to tell Professor McGonagall what happened and Draco and I came here. Sir, you don't think the v-vampire would . . . hurt Harry? I mean, it already drank the unicorn blood . . . so it wouldn't be hungry, right?" Neville whimpered.

"Longbottom, what you saw was impossible," Snape began.

"Sir, I swear . . . it really happened!" protested the Gryffindor. "The vampire was drinking the unicorn blood, Harry and Ron both saw it too . . .! It was awful, I'm not imagining things, honest!"

Severus scowled. "Longbottom, listen to me. What you saw is not possible because no vampire would ever drink unicorn blood. It is anathema to them. A vampire would soon as drink unicorn blood as you would drink poison. The first touch of unicorn blood upon a vampire's lips would cause it to burn up, for its flesh cannot bear something so pure."

"But it looked like a vampire," Neville squeaked.

"I am sure it did, Longbottom. However, that is a mistake a novice often makes the first time they see a revenant." The Potions Master replied, feeling a cold chill suddenly sweep through him.

"What's a revenant?" asked Draco.

"It is a creature of darkness, a body that has been animated through magic and will, it often contains a spirit which has refused to cross over and seeks revenge upon the living. It seeks any means to preserve its unnatural life, and does not care that drinking a unicorn's blood dooms it to a cursed half-life." The Potions Master informed his students.

"W-when I saw it . . . I was so scared that I . . . couldn't move," Neville admitted, flushing. "I felt like it was sucking all the warmth out of me, sir, and I was frozen. I couldn't look away and I felt like my heart was going to burst right out of my chest!"

"It could have, Longbottom. A revenant's fear aura has been known to cause those who encounter it to drop dead from the shock. It is equal to a Dementor's. You were very lucky." He poured two cups of cocoa and handed them to Draco and Neville. "Here. Drink this down, it will counteract the aura. Then return to your dormitory."

"What about Harry?" Draco asked.

Snape's face tightened into a grim mask. "Do not worry, Mr. Malfoy. I shall find him." He forced himself to sound confident, though inwardly his heart was fluttering madly and his stomach was churning. Of all the times for Skullduggery to be gone! Revenants in the forest, and Harry missing. Snape felt his heart skip a beat at the danger his ward could be in. Granted, the revenant wouldn't be able to touch the boy thanks to the protective amulet Severus had crafted for him, but Harry was probably lost and terrified, all alone in the darkness. The professor silently cursed Minerva's choice of venue for detention. Of all the times to assign a detention out of the castle! And worse, it should have been supervised by more than one professor. What had she been _thinking_?

His scowl etched into his face, Severus turned and made his way to the door of his quarters. "Finish up your cocoa, you ought to be in bed by the time my mantle clock strikes the quarter hour. If not, you shall not like the consequences."

"Yes, sir," the two chorused.

Severus left, knowing full well they would not disobey him. He strode down the corridor, his robe billowing like the wings of a night haunt behind him. Once Harry was safe again, he was going to give Minerva a good piece of his mind for putting his ward in danger, even if it had been unintentional. For now his priority was finding Harry, he could rant and rave later about Gryffindor stupidity.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

"Severus, I'm so terribly sorry!" were the first words out of Minerva's mouth when the Potions Master arrived in the Entrance Hall. "I never thought a simple trip with Hagrid into the forest would result in . . . this catastrophe!" The witch looked remorseful and quite upset.

Severus shook his head. He was furious, but now was not the time to engage his sharp tongue. "Minerva, what's done is done. We shall discuss this later, once Harry is back. The longer we stand here the longer Harry wanders in the forest and I shall not have my ward spend the night in there if I can prevent it." Obsidian eyes glinting, Severus thrust open the doors and strode down the path towards Hagrid's hut.

Minerva followed, half-running to keep up with the Potion Master's long strides. "Severus, is Skullduggery with you? Have you sent him on ahead to scout?"

"Not this time. He is away . . . fulfilling an old debt," Severus told her. Never had he wished for the raven's keen eyes and clever brain so much as he did then. _Just my bloody luck!_ He thought irritably, for Skullduggery could have located Harry much faster than he could have. But there was no use wishing for the moon, he would simply have to rely upon Locator Charms.

Just as he was approaching the forest verge, he saw Hagrid with Fang beside him, a lantern in one hand, waiting for him. Severus looked in vain for the figure of a small boy, but there was no sign of his ward. He felt the small spark of hope in his breast flicker and fade.

"Professor Snape, I went back to where they'd found the unicorn. It was still there, but no sign o' Harry. Fang found this on the ground where he musta stood, though." Hagrid held out a meaty palm, upon which rested the medallion of protection Snape had made for Harry. Its chain had been snapped in two.

Severus removed the medallion gently from Hagrid's hand, cradling it in his own. "It must have gotten caught on something and the chain snapped. He probably didn't even notice it was missing."

Minerva peered at the pendant curiously. "Severus, is that an amulet of protection?"

"Yes. I made it for Harry after he started being the target of so much misfortune, like the Plague Envelope. I told him to never remove it, and he never has . . . until now." He turned to Hagrid, tucking the precious medallion in a pocket. "Hagrid, show me where you found this. I will try and track Harry from there."

"All righ', Severus. But I had Fang search an' he couldn't pick up the trail no how."

"Fang's a good dog, Hagrid, but he's no bloodhound," remarked the professor. "Perhaps my Locator Charm will have better results."

They followed the gamekeeper into the forest, wands raised high, emitting magnified Lumos charms. Minerva and Hagrid paused and called Harry's name every so often, hoping that Harry would hear or see the light and come towards it.

Severus remained silent, convinced that Harry must have gone to ground and be hiding, afraid to reveal himself. It was what he would have done in a similar situation, and like him, Harry was a survivor.

"Over here," Hagrid stopped in a small clearing.

In the glow of the their wands, Minerva gasped at the heartwrenching sight of the dead unicorn, lying still and lifeless on the forest floor, its sparkling white coat dull, all the magical vitality leeched away. "Merlin have mercy! To slay a unicorn . . . is to commit a mortal sin."

Severus nodded shortly, he was more interested with where Hagrid had found the pendant. Reaching the spot the gamekeeper indicated, Severus knelt, careful not to step upon the patch of ground. He saw the indentation of Harry's feet, then, bringing his wand closer, noticed something else. A red stain upon the ground just behind the footprints. Severus carefully extended a finger, touched the wet earth.

Blood. Harry had been hurt. He swore roundly in his head then. He examined the ground, hoping to find a trail that would lead him to his injured child. Instead he discovered a second set of footprints, a short distance into the brush. Frowning, Severus measured them with his palm. They seemed too large to be a student's, and yet too small to be a full-grown man's. Perhaps a woman?

"Severus, have yeh found anything?" Hagrid's voice boomed out of the air.

Severus scowled, inwardly lamenting his companions' inability to be silent. "I have found two sets of footprints, one is obviously Harry's, the other I don't know. There is also some blood upon the ground. But they are the only signs, there are no tracks leading away from here."

"Blood? Then Potter is injured?" Minerva cried in dismay.

"Perhaps. Unless the blood belongs to this mysterious stranger," Severus declared, rising. He prayed that were the case.

"Could the revenant . . .?"

"No. Revenants leave no footprints, they glide above the ground," Severus reminded her sharply. "And if it had caught Harry . . . he would be dead." Especially if the revenant was who Snape suspected it was. He began to chant a Locator Charm.

But the charm seemed unable to grab hold of Harry's magical signature, which was akin to fingerprints, every wizard's was unique. His wand spun uselessly in his palm, like a compass unable to find magnetic north.

"Nothing," he hissed, the only outward sign of his terrible frustration and fear a grimace upon his face, which otherwise was a mask of stone-featured determination.

"Let me try," Minerva said, irritating him beyond measure.

Did she think he was a fool, or inept at casting, that that was the reason his spell had failed? he longed to snarl at her. It was her inattention and decision to give the students detention in so dangerous a place that had resulted in Harry going missing. And people said that _he_ gave out unreasonable detentions? Merlin's bloody arse! No student, Slytherin or otherwise, could ever claim he'd put their lives at risk scrubbing cauldrons, or the dungeon floor, or pickling rat spleens!

He felt a small jolt of satisfaction when Minerva's Four Points spell also failed. She looked dismayed.

"I can't understand why . . ."

"Obviously, the spell cannot find his signature because whoever has him knows how to cast Anti-Locator charms, at the very least," Severus growled, a _what-are-you-stupid_ tone lacing his words. Gryffindors! He thought disgustedly. Always looking for the obvious solution and stating it too.

"Then what can we do?" asked Hagrid.

Severus gritted his teeth. "For the moment, we are at a stalemate. Whoever has kidnapped my ward has us at a disadvantage right now. It is night, we are exhausted and not in the best frame of mind, and this is someone who is skilled at concealment. If Skullduggery were here, I could have him search and speak to the birds in the forest, they might have seen this person take Harry and run off with him. Rarely does a person think to consider that eyes from above could be watching, this one concealed his or her tracks on the ground, probably with Boots of Stealth, which leave no tracks while in motion."

"Yes, that makes sense. He couldn't have Apparated, because of the wards." Minerva stated. "I suppose the only thing we can do now is to return to the castle and inform the Headmaster, then resume our search tomorrow. Severus, I shall take full responsibility for Potter's disappearance, and accept any consequences the Headmaster sees fit to give me."

Severus' mouth twisted. "You needn't play the sacrificial lamb, Minerva. I'm certain Albus will forgive you your mistake, he's hardly likely to sack you since you're Deputy Headmistress." _Now if it were my oversight . . . there would be holy hell to pay, but then I'm only his Slytherin Potions Master and any mistake I make must be paid for unto the tenth generation._

"Severus, I am truly sorry . . ." she began.

"So you've said. If you're seeking absolution, talk to Albus, not me. Right now there is one thing that matters to me, and that is finding Harry. My forgiveness can wait, old puss," he declared coldly. He spun about and stalked back the way he had come, anger radiating from every pore of his being. Anger and a frustrated helplessness.

"Severus . . . _can_ you forgive me?" she called after him.

He did not slow, nor did he reply.

Hagrid patted the distraught Transfiguration professor on the shoulder clumsily. "Don' worry, Minerva. He'll come 'round. He's angry at me too, I can tell."

"And he has the right to be, Hagrid! We were responsible for them. And we failed poor Harry. Heaven only knows what is happening to him," she murmured, choking up. "If something should happen to him, Hagrid, I shall never forgive myself and I shan't expect Severus to ever speak to me again." Dabbing at her eyes, the Gryffindor matriarch reluctantly departed the clearing, her shoulders slumped with the weight of her poor decision and the fact that it might cost them all the life of the Boy-Who-Lived.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

"My godmother?" Harry repeated. "I didn't even know I had one."

"Of course you do, dear boy!" the Fifth Marauder murmured, smoothing the hair back from his forehead as if he were a fretful child. "All babies born in the wizarding world have godparents. The last time I saw you, Harry, was at your baptism. That's why you don't remember me."

Harry frowned. His head throbbed, but he was suspicious of this woman's claim. He might not know much about godparents in the wizarding world, but in the Muggle one he knew that they were expected to take care of their godchild if his parents weren't able to. So why hadn't she done so? He peered up at her, trying to see her face.

Abruptly, she cast off her hood, saying with saccharine sweetness, "There! Is that better?"

He looked up and saw a face that seemed youthful, perhaps the same age as his mother's might have been, had she lived past twenty-one. Ringlets of golden blond hair cascaded down to her shoulders and beyond. Her eyes were . . . strange . . . she had one blue and one brown, and they shone with an odd sort of light . . . almost like satisfaction. For some reason they made him uncomfortable. She would have been pretty, had she not been so thin. Her cheeks were gaunt, lending a sharpness to her features than made Harry think of a bird of prey. She appeared to be of medium height, the blue robe wrapped about her slender frame snugly. He noted that she wore a small key on a string about her neck, and several pouches on her belt. Smoky gray boots peeked out from her hem.

He squinted as the boots seemed to swirl in his vision, as if they were surrounded by fog. He rubbed his eyes to clear them of sleep, wondering what was the matter with him? Maybe he had hit his head harder than he had thought. He managed to organize his thoughts and asked, "But if you're my godmother, why didn't you take me to live with you, isn't that a godmother's responsibility?"

"You're quite right, Harry!" she exclaimed, smiling as if he had just stated something profound. "You've got your mother's brains as well as her eyes, I see! That is what _should_ have happened, of course. You see . . . I was your mother's second choice for godmother, she was my good friend. Her first choice, and the one that was recorded legally, was Alice Longbottom. She wanted to make Frank godfather along with her, but James put his foot down. Said one Longbottom was enough, and it was Sirius Black's turn, and a good thing too, considering what happened to them. Such a tragedy!"

"What happened to them?" asked Harry.

"You mean no one ever told you? Alice and Frank were assaulted by Death Eaters and tortured into insanity. They share a room at St. Mungos, and are incurably mad, poor things!"

Harry was horrified. Surely, they couldn't be speaking about . . . Neville's parents? He had known Neville lived with his grandmother but had never really wondered why. He had assumed that Neville's parents, like his own, had died. But this . . . he couldn't believe that Neville had never told him. Then again, it wasn't something one could bring up in casual conversation, and Harry had never asked. He felt so terrible for Neville, how awful was it to still have your parents living but yet not have them at the same time? In a way, Harry was glad his parents were dead. That way he could mourn them and go on with his life.

"How . . . how did it happen?" Harry asked then.

She gave him an odd look. "No one ever told you that on Halloween night, you were not the only family targeted by You-Know-Who? While _he_ came to Godric's Hollow, led there no doubt by Snape, for all he claimed to change sides, he sent his Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr., to the Longbottoms to try and get information from them and they were . . . overzealous. They used the Torture Curse too long and too much and drove them mad. But we found the bloody scum and put them away in Azkaban for life. Crouch died there, and I'm sure Bellatrix has been driven mad by now." There was a sort of vicious satisfaction in her voice.

It made Harry shudder. As did her implication that Severus was evil. "But if you were my mum's second choice as godmother, why wasn't I given to you to raise?"

"Well, it's complicated." The Fifth Marauder began, giving Harry a small smile. She pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. "You see, even though I was one of your mum's best friends, I was never officially named your godmother. Therefore I had no legal authority to claim you once Alice was declared mentally disabled. Now, that wouldn't have mattered if your godfather, Sirius, had married me like we'd planned, because then as his wife, I would have got custody of you. But we never had time to get married with the war on and all, and then he was arrested and imprisoned."

"Arrested? What did he do?"

"Nothing!" she declared passionately. "They say that he killed his best friend, Peter Pettigrew, and thirteen Muggles with an Exploding charm. Supposedly all that was left of Pettigrew's body was his index finger, and the Aurors had to Obliviate the Muggles who saw the fight, make them think a gas main had exploded, because Muggles aren't supposed to know about magic."

"My relatives were Muggles and they knew about magic," Harry pointed out. "They didn't really believe in it, but they knew about it. They forbid me to ever mention it."

"That was different. Your mother was a Muggleborn, so her sister learned of magic by association. But any other Muggle gets Obliviated if they see something they shouldn't."

Harry's brow wrinkled. "Obliviated?"

"It's a Memory Charm made to make them forget what they saw." The Fifth Marauder explained. "Have they taught you nothing in school, child?"

"We . . . uh . . . only just learned about Levitation charms and Featherlight charms. Professor Flitwick never mentioned that Obliviate thing."

"Humph! This is what comes of letting Muggles bring up a wizard child," she sniffed. "In any case, they arrested and convicted my Sirius, claimed there were witnesses and put him away for life. But I never thought he did it. I knew better. Sirius was a good and honorable man, he never would have killed his best friend, little Peter, who was a Marauder too during his schooldays. But I couldn't prove anything, and the whole wizarding world was in an uproar over your parents' deaths, You-Know-Who's death, and your survival. I would have tried to get a barrister to overturn the conviction, but before I could do so . . . my own family was attacked by wretched evil brutes, as was I."

"More of those Death Eaters?" Harry guessed.

"Yes," hissed the woman, and in her eyes burned a terrible hatred. Her mouth twisted into a grimace of pure fury as she continued. "They came in the middle of the night, neither I nor my parents or my brother was expecting anything. We were supposed to be _safe _now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone! His followers were _supposed_ to have been rounded up and thrown in the deepest bowels of Azkaban. But some of them escaped. And they came to Norfolk Grange. They slaughtered my parents in their beds and when my brother tried to go for help, they cut him down like a dog! He was only fourteen! They attacked me as well, and almost killed me with a Cutting Curse. They left me for dead, sure I was going to bleed out and die. Only I didn't. I managed to stop the bleeding in time and then I went into hiding. I had to let them think I was dead. You see, I had seen their faces, they hadn't bothered to put on those grotesque masks. I could identify them. Mulciber, Avery, and Rosier! But I was too weak to do anything after the attack, I was half-dead. By the time I recovered, weeks later, the bloody snakes were in Azkaban or they had fled the country. But I vowed to have my revenge upon all those miserable Death Eaters. They had taken away everything I loved. I have dedicated my life to hunting them down."

"Are you an Auror then?"

She shook her head, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. "No. They wouldn't accept my application. Claimed I wasn't stable enough . . . that my grief made me irrational. Ha! The fools! I didn't need them to teach me how to hunt down Death Eater scum! I'd learned a lot from Sirius when I dated him. He taught me all kinds of tricks on how to track a criminal and subdue them." She bared her teeth savagely. "And when I found one . . . I made them pay! Oh, how they paid! I wasn't the Fifth Marauder for nothing, you know!"

"The Fifth Marauder?" Harry repeated, growing more and more uneasy.

"The Marauders were a group of Gryffindors at Hogwarts. They were pranksters and defenders of the weak, especially Muggleborns. They made the school safe from the Slytherins and the Death Eater kids, like Mulciber and Snape. Your father, James, was one. Sirius was another. They had two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They were clever and handsome, and all the girls in my House fell in love with them."

"What House are you?"

"Gryffindor, of course! It's the best house! I was always mad for Sirius, and soon I joined them in their campaign to rid the school of all the scummy Death Eaters. He called me the Fifth Marauder," she declared proudly.

"But . . . what's your real name?" Harry probed.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you that? How silly of me!" she giggled, sounding like an adolescent girl.

For some reason her laughter sent chills down his spine. He clutched the sheet pulled about him and wished desperately to be somewhere else. Somehow he knew that his so-called godmother was touched in the head. He could see it in her eyes and it frightened him terribly.

"My name is Marlene, dear boy. Marlene McKinnon." She smiled at him. "But you may call me Aunt Marlene. Oh, I am so glad that I found you when I did. Otherwise that . . . creature might have harmed you."

"You mean the vampire? Where did it go?"

"Don't worry about that, Harry. You're safe with me and no dark creature will ever harm you. It ran off when I came, probably frightened of my aura." Marlene declared proudly.

"My head hurts," Harry said, wincing as a sharp pain shot through him.

"I'll bring you a pain reliever in a moment, precious one," she murmured, gazing at him with possessive eyes. "You passed out from shock and hit your head on the ground," she lied glibly. "But don't feel bad, Harry. Any child your age would have done so. It doesn't make you any less a Gryffindor."

She summoned a pain reliever and gave it to Harry to drink. Once he had done so, she said, "There. Feel better now?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I . . . I really ought to be going now. My friends and professors will be wondering where I am by now."

"Nonsense, Harry. You are still too weak to go anywhere. Besides, this is your home now, you belong with me. I'm sorry I never visited you before, but I didn't know where you had gone. And I was rather busy hunting down the Death Eaters. As well as doing research on concealment charms and other old magic. I studied with the Society of Ravens for a time, do you know of them?"

"Yes, ma'am. Our librarians, Madam Pince and Lena Rosario, are members of the Society, and so is Severus." Harry told her.

"Snape!" she cried, her face twisting into a sneering mask of hate. "He should have been put in Azkaban to rot! Instead he got off because Dumbledore, the old fool, thought he genuinely regretted his actions. He was acquitted of all crimes! Walked free to live his own life, steeped in the dark arts, while my Sirius was trapped in Azkaban. Lying tricky bastard! He's evil to the core, like all Slytherins!"

"No, he's not!" Harry cried defensively. "He saved my life three times and he became my guardian so I didn't have to go back to the Dursleys. He's not evil. You don't know what he's done for me."

Abruptly she grabbed Harry by the shoulders and pulled him up from the bed, her eyes burning with a fierce loathing, flecks of spittle dotting her lips as she snarled, "Now you listen to me, young man, and listen good! Nothing decent or good has _ever _come out of Slytherin! That's the house He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came from and all of his followers. _All_ Slytherins are dark, they're born with the evil in them. Severus Snape is one of the darkest, he came to school knowing all sorts of dark curses and he often hexed Sirius and James without provocation. He was a rotten sneaking little piece of dung, always minding others' business, always eavesdropping and spying, trying to get the Marauders in trouble. He's no good half-blood trash and the sooner you accept that the better."

Harry gritted his teeth, for her rough handling made his head throb. "My mum said he was her best friend."

"Severus Snape was _never_ her friend! He used her, treated her like a prize, and once she realized that, she cast him aside. I told her long ago that Snape was no good, and finally she believed me. I knew, you see, how Slytherins can deceive you, make you think they care, that they have a heart, only to go and stab you in the back. Poor Lily! She felt sorry for the greasy git, he never had any friends, except the Death Eater scum, and even they hated him, I'll bet. He was a sniveling whiny coward in school and I doubt if he's changed much."

Harry shook his head stubbornly. "No. He fought a troll for me and almost got killed. And a dragon. If he was so evil, why didn't he just let me die?"

"Slytherins are cunning, Harry. They have many secrets, and they deceive as easily as breathing. You're just a boy, Snivellus knows this, and he's quick to take advantage of you. Like he did Lily. She thought he was her friend, until the day he betrayed her by calling her a Mudblood. That's a filthy insult, by the way. Then he showed his true colors. James and Sirius never trusted him, they always hated him, and they were right to do so. In the end, Snape took the dark road, like all his kind, and someday I shall make him pay as well."

"Why? He wasn't one of the ones who attacked you."

"He would have been, if given the opportunity," she replied coldly. "I know you're confused and upset now, Harry. That clever-tongued git played you for a fool. Trust me, I know Slytherins like the back of my hand. They always lie and cheat and their greatest ambition was to sit at You-Know-Who's right hand and kiss his arse. You can't believe anything they tell you. I was so proud to find out that you were Sorted into Gryffindor, Harry. But then you ruined it by letting that smarmy two-faced bastard to become your guardian. Still, you're just a little boy, and better wizards than you have been taken in by Snape. You didn't know any better." She patted his cheek.

Harry stiffened. "I'm not a little boy! I'm eleven!"

She chuckled indulgently and stroked his hair. "Eleven is not old enough to determine good from evil. You were being influenced by evil, child, and it's my duty as your godmother to protect you from your own foolishness."

"Aunt Marlene, I'm not stupid. I can tell good from bad. Severus takes care of me, better than my relatives ever did. _He_ doesn't lock me in cupboards or work like a dog doing chores day and night. _He_ doesn't call me freak and tell me I should have died along with my parents."

"Stupid Muggles!"Marlene swore. "You are very special Harry, surely you know that. One day you'll be a hero. Just like your father."

"I don't want to be a hero. I just want to go back home." Harry cajoled.

"Harry, dear, you _are_ home," she purred. "Snivellus is no fit guardian for a brave Gryffindor, and the sooner you accept that, the better. Your mother would have wanted it this way. She knew I would love you like my own, as she did. You are the child I never had, my Harry. And I shall teach you everything a good Gryffindor ought to know, so you can make your parents proud. Who needs Snivellus anyway?"

_Me,_ Harry thought forlornly. _Severus, where are you?_ He had never felt more lost and frightened. The Fifth Marauder was insane, and he had a feeling that she would do all within her power to keep him here forever. His hand groped beneath his shirt, feeling for his medallion. But it wasn't there! He patted his chest frantically, but knew it was gone.

"What's wrong, dear?" Marlene inquired solicitously.

"My medallion of protection . . . it's gone! Have you seen it?"

"No. It must have fallen off in the forest."

Harry felt a sharp stab of loss. "Uncle Severus made it for me, he told me to never take it off . . ."

"Don't call him that! He doesn't deserve the title," the Fifth Marauder snarled. "He's not anything to you . . . and you don't need his dirty amulet for protection. I'll make you another, ten times as good."

Harry glared at her. "No. Don't bother."

She frowned at him. "Don't be cheeky. Or else I'll be forced to punish you and we don't want that, do we?" Her eyes glittered in warning. Then she shifted, her expression becoming soft and sweet again. "Now quit sulking and eat your supper." She waved her wand and a plate of beef stew appeared on a tray along with some bread and a cup of tea.

Harry thought about refusing the food, but he was starving and he realized he needed to keep up his strength. So he ate the stew, which was very good, a piece of bread, and drank the sweet tea. Then he glanced around for his wand. "My wand, where is it?"

"I've got it safe. You needn't worry," she reassured him. "You won't be needing it for awhile. You need to rest and regain your strength before you can cast spells. Merlin only knows what that slimy git has been teaching you, probably all kinds of dark magic, but I can fix that. I'll simply re-educate you properly. Then you'll be happy here, just like Lily intended."

_My mum was Severus' best friend. She told me that herself and that he would love me like she did, _Harry thought rebelliously. _I don't care if you are my godmother, I don't trust you. You're not right in the head._ But before he could argue further, he felt himself growing sleepy. He struggled against the soporific feeling stealing through him, but it was no use. His eyelids were growing heavier and heavier and his limbs felt like lead. Too late he realized she must have drugged him.

He felt himself sucked into the realm of dreams, and his last thought before he succumbed to sleep's siren call was that at least he had his pocket watch. He fell asleep clutching it in his right hand, and was comforted.

Marlene McKinnon, the Fifth Marauder, caught the faint smile on Harry's face and smiled in triumph. She would make the boy see the error of his ways, free him from the web of lies and darkness Snape had spun about him. Soon he would see Snivellus for what he was, just as Lily had with her help. She would not let her godson remain a ward of a dark wizard, not while there was breath in her body. Harry was a Gryffindor, he belonged with another Gryffindor, who could teach him the true path.

She smirked to herself. _I will teach him to hate you, Severus Snape. Hate the very sight of you, and someday you'll hear him curse your name and send you packing just like Lily did. _A cruel smile flickered over her features as she recalled the night Lily had kicked the lousy snake to the curb. Lily had sent Snape slinking away with his tail between his legs; Marlene had come upon him later that night, curled in the stairwell, sniveling over losing Lily. She had laughed at him, asking him why he was bawling like a baby. He had flipped her off, snarling at her to get away before he hexed her. "Poor Snivvy!" she had mocked. "Did you really think Lily would take up with the likes of you, when she could have a _real_ man like James? You're nothing but trash, Snape. Death Eater scum and Lily finally knows the truth. Now why don't you go crawl back to the dungeon where you belong, with the rest of the vermin? Maybe some Slytherin girl will take pity on you and show you a good time." He might have cursed her then, but the Marauders had come along and Sirius threatened to hex Snape's nose off and the coward had run, scurrying as fast as he could back to the dungeons.

Someday soon, she vowed, she would see him run again, and then Harry would see that Severus Snape was nothing but a coward, just like the rest of his traitorous kind.

Humming to herself, she pulled out her wand and began to reinforce the concealment and non-detection charms about her home, one could never be too careful, after all.

**A/N: All of you who guessed Marlene McKinnon gets 100 House points and a hug from Severus! **

**What did you think of the Fifth Marauder? Do you think she's scary or creepy? Are you afraid of what she will do to Harry?**


	26. Skewed Perspective

**26**

**Skewed Perspective**

Severus went to speak with Dumbledore as soon as the Headmaster arose the next morning, to tell him that Harry was missing. The words stuck in his throat, stabbing him like shards of glass, but he could not afford to let his pride dictate his actions. His unsuccessful search for his ward the night before proved that he was up against a very good practitioner of concealment magic, perhaps more than that, and the last thing he wanted was to endanger Harry. Though he hated to admit that he had been lax protecting the boy, he couldn't deny the truth. He wished fervently that Skullduggery would return, but the raven remained absent upon some secret mission for Thunderbird. Skull would have provided moral support for the disheartened Potions Master, as well as being able to scout the forest for clues.

To his surprise, he found Minerva already there, she had already explained what had happened and Dumbledore seemed sympathetic to her and worried about Harry. "I am sure we shall find him," he soothed, stroking his beard. "You mustn't lose hope."

Severus snorted after he entered the office upon hearing that statement. He still had not forgiven Minerva for placing Harry in harm's way—the boy had difficulty enough avoiding trouble, he sure as hell didn't need a teacher placing him in worse situations. "Are you prepared to search the entire forest, Albus?"

"If need be." Albus said calmly. "First I need to know what you cast and when and where he disappeared."

Severus told him. "Draco and Neville believe this . . . creature took him away, but I know of no creature capable of casting spells of concealment well enough to hide someone like Harry. You know how strong his magical signature is. I believe that a person has Harry captive. Perhaps even the same witch or wizard who has been bombarding Harry with letters accusing me of being an unfit guardian and telling the boy to find another, more worthy person to be his guardian." The professor said through gritted teeth.

"Letters? Are you talking about the Howlers you received from some of the more . . . overzealous Gryffindor alumni?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled.

"No. The letters are addressed to Harry and not me. The person signs themselves the Fifth Marauder and claims he or she was Lily's friend and James' as well while at school. I have been pondering on it, but so far don't know of too many students that were close to both of them while in school." Severus frowned.

"Alice and Frank Longbottom were, but they're in St. Mungos," Minerva mused.

Severus shook his head. "We can figure out this person's identity later, I want the search for Harry to continue. The longer he is missing, the worse it will be. I shall ask Hagrid to speak to the centaurs, perhaps they will help? Perhaps Fawkes may search also, since Skull is not here?"

"Of course, Severus. And I shall help too," Dumbledore promised. Sensing how agitated the other man was, the Headmaster quickly stood up and made as if to leave the office.

"And me," Minerva said. "It's the least I can do, since it's mostly my fault Harry was kidnapped."

Severus gave a short nod, still not up to speaking with the Transfiguration professor. He might have forgiven a newer teacher more readily for making a mistake such as that, but Minerva had been a teacher for longer than he had been alive, she should know better than to assign a detention like that to mere first years and not go and supervise it herself. Hagrid was not responsible enough to do so, and he was only one person besides. "Let us be off then."

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

The three teachers returned in time for breakfast, there had been no sign of Harry, they had scoured every inch of the forest in a large area surrounding the place where the unicorn had died and Harry had last been seen. Dumbledore had felt a presence lingering of someone, but was unable to tell if the magic user was male or female, only that they had been present when Harry had been there. Hagrid had promised to speak with the centaur Ronan, and Dumbledore to send Fawkes to search later this afternoon. In the meantime, Severus and Minerva had classes to teach and students to reassure, since now nearly everyone knew about Harry's disappearance, thanks to the loose tongues of Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. That was the hot topic of conversation at breakfast that morning, and while some students, mainly the ones who either didn't know or were jealous of Harry, didn't care, there were some who were deeply concerned and fearful that the kidnapper could be after them next.

Dumbledore actually gave a speech reassuring the students that everything that could be done was being done to locate Harry and they would all be safe as long as they remained on the grounds or inside the castle.

"Oh sure, now he says that," muttered Ron to Percy. "But before it was okay to send us out into the bloody Forest alone!" His face fell then. "I hope Harry's not . . . hurt or anything. You don't think he is, do you Percy?"

"I don't know what to think, Ron." Percy said. "He could just be lost or hiding somewhere."

"Then why hasn't Professor Snape or McGonagall found him?" queried Hermione,

"Maybe they tried and he's been knocked out or something." Percy shrugged impatiently.

"Or maybe . . . he really was kidnapped," Neville said with a quiver in his voice. He blamed himself for running away last night. Some Gryffindor he was!

"I say serves him right for breaking the rules and losing all those points." Craven sneered.

"Shut up, Craven!" ordered Hermione angrily. "No one deserves to be kidnapped, no matter how many points they've lost."

"Well, if you all hadn't been out of bed at night _we _wouldn't have lost points and _you_ wouldn't have gotten detention!" Craven pointed out, puffing his chest up to look more important.

"Maybe so, but we don't have a choice as to what kind of detention we serve," Hermione pointed out. "We should have been polishing trophies or something, not wandering about the forest with only Hagrid to look out for us." She felt betrayed by McGonagall. A teacher should have been with them, then maybe Harry wouldn't have . . . run away, vanished, been taken? Not knowing what had happened to her friend was making her sick. She pushed away her plate of toast, eggs, and fruit. She recalled how frightened she had been that night, scared enough to hold Malfoy's hand and not even feel awkward. But not as scared as Harry must have been, seeing that vampire feeding off the unicorn, or whatever it was. She felt unaccountably guilty for some reason she couldn't even name.

"Aw, listen to the little Muggleborn whine," sneered Craven. "Can't handle a few minutes in the forest. Boo hoo!"

"If _you'd_ been in the forest last night, Craven, you'd have wet yourself," Ron snarled. He disliked the other boy and his big fat mouth. He was sure that Craven had been the one to trash Harry's bed and trunk that time, and the kid was a sneaking coward not to own up to it. Ron couldn't figure how someone like that had ended up in Gryffindor. He belonged in the gutter. "Now shut up and quit talking like you're somebody, you little toad."

Craven opened his mouth to say something back, and Percy cut in. "That's enough! Craven, shut up, before I give you a three foot essay on the properties of poisonous herbs and fungi to write for me tomorrow. Maybe that will keep you quiet and keep you from starting trouble."

"No fair!" the boy whined unpleasantly. "All you Weasleys stick together."

"That's right, we do," Percy said coolly, meeting the other's gaze sternly. "Don't forget it. Now shut up and eat."

Craven shut up.

Over at the Slytherin table, Draco was eating his omelet quietly, not really saying much. He couldn't believe Potter was gone. His sometimes rival and friend, the boy who both intrigued and irritated him, was missing. He wondered what would happen now. Would there be Aurors and Search and Rescue patrolling the grounds, looking for Harry? Draco wasn't sure what Neville and Ron had seen in the forest last night, but it had been pretty bad. What would Snape do now that Harry was missing?

He cast a quick glance up towards the staff table and saw Severus sitting next to McGonagall, looking stone faced, picking at his breakfast. He did not look happy at all. Then again, Snape never looked happy.

Crabbe nudged him, "Old Snape looks really cold, like an ice statue."

"He's probably worried over Potter," remarked Goyle. "I mean, he's Potter's guardian, it looks really bad if he can't find him."

"Maybe he could use our help," Draco said suddenly.

Crabbe and Goyle just stared at him as if he had gone crazy.

"Help with what?" asked Blaise, who was sitting across from him.

"Finding Potter," replied Draco.

"I doubt the professor would ever let us into the forest," Blaise said doubtfully. "You heard the Headmaster."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Zabini, grow a brain. I didn't mean we go there alone. I meant we go there with him. Help him search."

"Oh. How come you care so much about Potter, Malfoy? Thought you hated him."

Draco looked uncomfortable. "I did. But that was before . . . before he saved me from the Pendragon. He's not . . . he's not as bad as some of the lions, like that prick Craven. And he's Snape's ward, which makes him family. So we ought to help find him. If we can."

"Malfoy's right . . . for once," Flint agreed, chiming in from a few seats down. The beefy Captain looked grave. "But so's Zabini. Professor would never let you two imps wander about the forest, even with him there. He couldn't risk something happening to you. Me, on the other hand, could help him look. Or Skullduggery could."

"Where is ol' Skull?" asked another Housemate.

"Dunno," muttered Flint. Usually the raven was always at breakfast, enjoying snitching food off people's plates, imitating them, and perching on Snape's shoulder.

"He's probably off finding trouble," said a Slytherin girl.

"Or maybe he's looking for Potter," mused Flint.

"When will you ask the professor, Flint?" a tall boy with a shock of reddish hair asked curiously. His name was Mark Tarrent, and he was a fifth year also.

"After his classes are done. Why? Plan on joining me?"

"I might. It's not right what old Puss-in-Boots has done, letting a little kid wander about in the forest with only Hagrid the Horribly Clueless for company."

"Hey, I was there too!" Draco objected.

"And did you feel safe?" challenged Tarrent.

"No, not really," Draco admitted.

"There you go then. The old witch really messed up big time. I'm surprised Dumbledore ain't sacking her." Tarrent mused.

"Nah. She's a Gryffie, like him. He'll let it slide. Now if it was anybody else, like a Slytherin . . ." Flint said darkly. "He'd be booted out of the castle right quick."

There were murmurs of agreement all around. The Slytherins knew quite well whom the Headmaster favored, and it wasn't them. The only one who really truly cared about them besides themselves and their families was their Head. Snape was always there for them, whether it was to answer a question, give advice, comfort a scared firstie, or punish them for some misbehavior. And while he could be strict and unbending, he also would stick up for them, and that counted for a lot in a House where you were damned from the start by the actions of Voldemort and his followers. Snape never made the mistake so many other teachers did, of thinking Slytherins were hopeless cases, bound to follow the dark road. Instead Snape encouraged his Slytherins to be the best, and use their ambition and cunning to make themselves better students. He did _not_ encourage them to follow the dark road, for he knew better than they where it led. "Think for yourself, don't follow blindly," was one of his maxims. It was why most of them respected him and gave him their loyalty and obedience. For many of them, Snape was the father they never had . . . or wished they had. Now they all felt for their mentor, they had all seen how close he had become with Harry, and knew he must be hurting because Harry was missing, maybe injured, or perhaps dead. Now, most felt, it was time to pay back Snape for his unwavering concern and caring. Now, their professor needed _them_ for a change.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Severus looked up from grading the potions his fifth-year class of Slytherins and Ravenclaws had turned in. Several of his fifth years, including Prefect Flint, were standing in front of his desk, looking at him concernedly. "Yes? Why are you all standing about like sheep? Do you have a question about the assignment I just gave?" he asked, somewhat sharply.

That potions class had been uninspiring, if Severus was being honest. He had given that class a standard potion to brew, the Befuddlement Draught, not his usual challenging ones. There were several decent brewers in this class, and they had seemed rather disappointed afterwards. But Severus was not up to par that afternoon; he was extremely concerned about his vanished ward and didn't have the desire to concentrate much on his favorite subject for once. He feared for Harry's life and found his attention wandering, thus his choice of subject.

"No, sir," answered Flint, who seemed to be the leader. He shuffled his feet and looked at his hands. "We just . . . er . . . were wondering, professor, if you . . . ah . . . needed our help."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Help? With what?"

"Looking for Potter in the forest," Flint managed to get out at last. "It was Malfoy's idea, but I told him and Zabini they were too young to be involved, and you needed someone older, with more experience."

"We can help, sir," spoke up Nala Singh. "If we each took a section . . . we could all keep in touch with the Speakeasy Charm," she said, naming a charm which allowed the caster to speak with someone as if they were right next to them.

"Why would my ward's disappearance concern you all so much?" queried the astonished professor.

"Because he's your family now, and your family is our family," Tarrent said simply. "And us Snakes stick together."

The professor stared into all of their eyes, finally determining that they were serious. He felt a warm glow of pride suffuse him. So far, no one from Potter's house, save Longbottom, Weasley, and Granger, had volunteered to help look for their missing Housemate. Indeed, Severus had heard several derogatory comments made about Harry, and one little snotrag had even gone so far as to proclaim Potter had asked for it! Severus had been hard pressed not to shake the little brat hard and give him detention scrubbing the dungeon toilets.

"Thank you. Your concern is greatly appreciated." He told them sincerely. "However, I think we ought to see if Fawkes finds anything before we go in again. I do not like what I found in there last time, and would prefer it if you remained here where it is safe. I would not like to inform your parents that you went missing as well."

"We understand, sir, but what if we went looking in pairs?" argued another boy.

"A good idea, Mr. Winters. I shall take it under advisement. If and when I need you, I shall inform you by leaving a note upon the bulletin board in the common room. You may go." He watched them all depart and wondered how Albus would react when he learned the supposed House of Darkness had volunteered to find the Boy-Who-Lived-to-Drive-Snape-Insane first. It was sure to be memorable, Severus thought, a smirk stealing over his features. Even better than the time he had showed Albus the picture of the study group in his quarters. Then he returned to marking solutions. If he didn't do something to pass the time, he would go crazy with worry. And the solutions and test wouldn't grade themselves, more's the pity.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_The Fifth Marauder's home:_

Harry woke slowly, feeling groggy and disorientated. He rubbed his eyes to rid them of sleep and groped about for his glasses on the end table next to the bed. Once he had put them on, he sat up. He still felt lethargic, as if he were in a fog, and he resolved to not drink anything his so-called godmother gave him unless she drank it first. He knew she had spiked his drink with something and he didn't appreciate being drugged, not at all! He looked about, and found that the room he was in was almost the size of Dudley's second bedroom at Privet Drive. The bed he was lying in took up one wall, it bore a cream and crimson coverlet and matching sheets. The walls were an odd stained wood paneling and there was a brown carpet on the floor. There was an armoire against the opposite wall, the nightstand, and a shelf which had some books on it. There was no window, so Harry had no idea where he was.

He groped in his pocket and found his watch. He carefully opened it and smiled at the picture of Lily. It was noon time, and Harry supposed he had slept away the day and night due to the potion she had slipped in his tea. He scowled and tucked the watch away. He didn't want his godmother seeing it. He rubbed the back of his neck, it was still tender where he had struck his head. By now Severus must be frantic, wondering where he was. Harry knew he had to get out of here and go back to school, but he didn't know where "here" was and he didn't have his wand either. He couldn't leave without his wand or without knowing where he was so he could go in the right direction.

Was he still in the forest? Or was this somewhere outside of Hogwarts grounds?

He slipped from the bed and tried the doorknob. Locked. Frustration filled him. If his so-called "godmother" was so concerned about him, why had she never attempted to contact him before now? Where had she been while he was living with the bloody Dursleys? He rattled the doorknob, another kind of urgency filling him. He felt like a prisoner, not a cherished relation or whatever she thought he was.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Let me out! I need to use the bathroom!"

It was true. Whatever she had given him made him have to pee desperately. He rattled the doorknob again. Serve her right if he had an accident on the carpet.

Just then the door opened and Marlene appeared, giving him a concerned look. "Harry, dear, what's the problem?"

Harry flashed her an accusing look. "I don't like being locked up," he snapped. "And I have to go. Where's the bathroom?"

"Right down there," she pointed.

He pushed past her rudely and rushed down to the door she had pointed at.

Marlene tutted at him, annoyed by his lack of manners. It was something else she would have to remedy.

Once he had relieved himself, he felt much better. He was tempted go and explore this house he was now in, but as soon as he stepped outside into the hallway, Marlene was at his elbow, steering him back inside his room.

"You aren't well enough to be up yet, Harry. That was a nasty knock on the head you took, you need to rest and regain your strength."

He scowled. "I feel fine. I need to go back to school, they'll be missing me."

She gave him an odd sort of smile. "Hogwarts is not safe for you. Death Eaters like Snape teach there. Dumbledore is obviously in his dotage to allow scum like that to teach children."

"No, he's not," Harry protested. "He hired the best Potions Master in Britain."

Marlene hauled him up by his collar, her face suddenly losing its ingratiating smile and becoming vicious and cold. "The best Potions Master in Britain! Don't be an idiot, boy! Snape is a traitor and evil! He has nothing useful to teach anyone, and should have been put in Azkaban long ago! Him, not my Sirius!"

Harry paled, but some stubborn streak in him refused to cower before her. "If Snape was as bad as you said, then . . . then why wasn't he convicted all those years ago? Maybe you're wrong about him. Dumbledore isn't stupid, he wouldn't deliberately put kids in danger. And if Uncle Severus was what you said, why would parents send their kids to a school with an evil teacher? Nobody's forcing them to go there."

Marlene lowered him to the ground. "You must understand, Harry, that Snape is a conniver, he can manipulate you. He's convinced Dumbledore he's reformed and the old man stupidly believes him. It doesn't matter what the courts say—Snape is guilty! I know it! Now why don't you lie back down? You're looking tired."

Her sudden shift from Slytherin-hating virago to sweet concerned caretaker made Harry feel confused and scared. He knew such mood swings weren't normal, were irrational, and he didn't trust anything she said. "I'm not tired. I want my wand back and to go back to Gryffindor Tower."

"I can't do that, Harry. I told you, the school isn't safe, you must stay here where I can protect you," she half-purred, her eyes slitting like a lazy cat's. "Don't worry, I can tutor you just as well as they can. I know spells, old magics, that they can hardly conceive of, much less cast."

"Where are we?"

"You are in my home," she stated simply, shoving him down on the bed.

"Where?" Harry persisted. "What part of Britain are we in?"

"A safe part," she replied, not really answering the question.

Harry ground his teeth. "Were you the one who sent me those letters?" he asked then, his voice sharp with anger.

"Of course I did. How else was I to try and keep you from making a colossal blunder? You should have listened to me, Harry. You belong with your own kind. But because you ignored my warnings, I had to punish you."

"Punish me?" Harry repeated, then recalled a different letter. "You . . . you sent the Plague Envelope with the Hornet Dust inside?"

She hesitated. "I . . . I had to punish you, don't you see? Naughty boys who disobey get punished," she declared sternly.

"I'm not your boy," Harry cried. "You aren't my relative or my guardian. Who said you have the right to punish me? Do you know how much that Hornet Dust _hurt_?"

"I am your godmother, I have a duty to teach you proper behavior. I only put a small amount of dust in the envelope, not enough to truly hurt you."

"How would you know a proper amount?" Harry demanded insolently, furious with her casual dismissal of his pain and suffering. "My whole _face_ blew up and I couldn't see and my tongue swelled up and I couldn't _swallow_ either and it hurt like hell. Madam Pomfrey had to give me a shot of antidote in my bum and that hurt too!"

"Oh? You were probably allergic to hornet stings then," she said, sounding rather indifferent. "I didn't know that. Had you listened to me in the first place, you wouldn't have gotten punished."

_She's insane. Totally batty._ Harry thought, feeling utterly desperate. He couldn't think of anything else to do but to try and get information from her. Severus had always preached at him to know his enemy when he had taught Harry and Ron defense over the holiday. "Do you always use magic to punish someone?"

Marlene shrugged. "Only when necessary. It was how my father punished me and my brother when we misbehaved. The McKinnons are an old pureblood family, you know. We have hardly any half-bloods or Muggleborns in our lineage. We are strong in magic and have often mingled our bloodline with other pureblood families, like the Peverells and Blacks and Prewitts." She said proudly.

Harry didn't like the satisfaction in her tone when she said that. It reminded him of Draco before he had changed his attitude. His "godmother" sounded like a prejudiced bint. "My mother was a Muggleborn," he reminded her softly.

"Yes, I know. Lily was an exception to the rule. She was brilliant, both in magic and in intelligence. That was why I was her friend. Most Muggleborns are stupider than dirt, they can barely master basic spells and wand movements. But Lily was different. It was why she attracted James Potter. He could overlook her blood status because she was full of talent, and he wanted a witch who could pass that talent down to his children. It's why pureblood marries pureblood. It's why Sirius was the perfect match for me, not to mention he was deliciously handsome!" she gave a short chuckle. "Your mother soon learned the difference between a noble pureblood and a scummy half-blood like Snape! In the beginning, she didn't realize how she was demeaning herself associating with him, but once I explained what a gutter rat Snape was and how he had lied to her about his true motives, she changed her mind about being his friend. Snape was worthless and she forgot him once I convinced her to give James a chance."

There was something sinister in Marlene's tone that made Harry shiver. She looked so . . . gentle and unassuming, but all of Harry's instincts were screaming at him that she was dangerous. How could his mother have trusted her? Unless . . . she didn't trust Marlene, and that was why she hadn't named the witch as his official godmother?

"It was because of me that they got together," continued Marlene. "Well, me and Sirius. Both of us felt that they were the perfect couple, and all they needed was a few nudges from close friends to start the ball rolling. Once Lily dismissed Snape, she could see what a perfect fellow James was and then they married and had you. You look just like your father, Harry. Except you have Lily's eyes and unfortunately her poor judgment in friends."

Harry stiffened. "My mother never had poor judgment. She came to me in a dream, after Professor Snape saved me from the troll on Holloween. She told me she loved me and that even though she couldn't be there for me, there was someone who would love me just like she did."

Marlene eyed him with keen interest. "What's that you say? You had a vision of Lily?"

"No, it was a dream, but not like a normal dream," Harry replied, wishing he'd never mentioned it. He silently upbraided himself.

"Lily projected herself to you in a dream?" Marlene repeated. "Tell me exactly what she said!"

"She . . . she said she loved me and missed me and I shouldn't feel guilty that she sacrificed herself for me. I told her that Uncle Severus had said that too, and she said I should listen to him. That he was her best friend and she loved him. She told me to be happy and to live my life. She said she was sorry she couldn't be there for me, but there was someone else who would be, who would love me as she would," Harry said.

Marlene's mouth twisted. "She called Snape her best friend? You must be remembering that wrong. She hated Snape! She would have never forgiven him for what he did!" Then she whispered, "She told you there would be someone else who would love you as she would? She must have been speaking of me. She knew how much I adored you as a baby. She knew that I would have taken care of you like my own. I think of you as the son I never had," she crooned, reaching out to stroke his hair.

Harry shuddered and tried not to flinch away. She was looking at him like a little girl he'd seen once looked at a beloved doll she had been holding—with a possessive adoration. He felt as if he was smothering under her gaze and he almost preferred her anger to this creepy infatuation. He wanted her to go away and leave him alone, he wanted Severus to find him, or Skull, or even McGonagall, and wondered if they were looking for him now. He recalled the petrifying fear cast by the vampire and hoped that Neville and Ron had gotten away safely from the monster. He had to get free of her, of this place. But right then he was trapped. He tried again to reason with her.

"If I'm like your son . . . Aunt Marlene . . ." he forced the title from his lips, it tasted foul. "Then why can't I get up and explore the house? Or go outside?"

"Because you're still recovering from your concussion, darling. But with a few more doses of my potions, you'll be well enough for me to take you on a tour. Then maybe you can go outside for a bit. One thing at a time, godson. One thing at a time."

Harry reluctantly lay back on the bed, deciding for now the best solution was to comply with her wishes. There was little to be gained from defying her yet. Had she been the one to set the storm spirits on him also? Or did he have two enemies? So many unanswered questions swirled through his head that it began to throb again. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. He hoped it would convince her to leave. Meanwhile, his brain spun round and round, trying to concoct a plan of escape. But he couldn't think clearly and soon his thoughts scattered as he drifted off to sleep.

Marlene smiled gently at him, then drew the covers over him and left, going to consult the Codex Magicka, an ancient spellbook of bindings and concealment, summoning and charms. It had been old when the Society had acquired it, and contained many spells which were no longer approved by the Ministry for use. Marlene no longer cared about the Ministry's approval. She would use any means necessary to reach her goals—to destroy every Death Eater and put all Slytherins on probation, and to teach her godson how to be a good wizard and love her as his foster mother. She knew she had her work cut out for her, since Snape had corrupted the boy. But she would succeed. Harry would learn what was appropriate and not . . . or else.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Fawkes returned late that afternoon, having found not a sign of Harry. Dumbledore continued to cast locator charm after locator charm without success. The old wizard was very upset, convinced that Voldemort's followers had stolen Harry away, and vowed to keep searching.

"Whoever is hiding him is excellent with concealment charms," the Headmaster admitted. "Everything I have tried so far has met with a barrier that bounces my own spell backwards. It's an old kind of magic. But one that is done well."

"You can't break the spell?" asked Severus, sounding both astonished and angry.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not right at the moment. I need to study on it some more. Forgive me, Severus. But we must be patient awhile longer. I promise you we shall find Harry. But I have never dealt with wards like this before and it will take me some time to unravel them."

Severus nodded, disappointed but determined not to show it. He prayed Skullduggery would return soon. The wily raven had never failed him yet. And the bird knew the old magic as well. He departed the Headmaster's office, pondering what else he might do, when he recalled that Lena and Irma were of the Society and might know of some old spells he could try. Anything was better than this endless waiting.

He quickly Flooed to St. Mungos, hoping against hope that Irma had regained consciousness.

**I know it's been a long time between updates, but I have been busy with work, the holiday, and my mother is due to have surgery soon. Please be patient and know that I shall update when I can, I will never abandon a story. What do you think of this chapter? Were you surprised at the Slytherins?**


	27. Awakening

**27**

**Awakening**

Irma Pince slowly returned to consciousness, aware that something terrible had happened, but not remembering what it was. It nagged at her, the missing memories, and she carefully used an old memory trick to retrace her steps in her mind, starting with the last thing she could recall, which was going to investigate a noise coming from the library. _And what happened after that?_ she wondered. Something had happened, something that her mind refused to think upon, but Irma was not the sort to shy away from bad things happening. She sensed it, just below the surface, and she probed gently. She couldn't afford to hide whatever it was from herself. She coaxed herself to remember, using the ancient techniques espoused by the Society. Because knowledge was their primary goal, those of the Society were trained in how to remember things verbatim and also photographically.

Irma called upon those abilities now and suddenly she recalled what she wished forever erased from her mind—Pippin lying upon the table, mutilated and destroyed. A deliberate act of murder, directed at her. Then, before she could call for Lena, someone had hit her on the back of the head. She opened her eyes. "Dearest Cerridwen have mercy!" she cried.

"Aunt Irma, you're awake!" Lena exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Do you . . . know who I am? Who you are?" Her eyes flooded with tears as she saw the light of recognition in her aunt's face.

"Oh, Lena, my poor owl!" Irma wept, and Lena reached out to draw her into a loving embrace.

"I know. I'm so sorry!" Lena said, rubbing the older witch's back, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I heard you screaming in my head, but when I got there, you were lying on the floor and you've been in a coma ever since."

The two Ravenclaws clung to each other, crying softly for what had been lost and also what had been regained. Above them, a silent monitoring charm sounded, letting the Healer on call know that their patient was, at long last, awake.

After a short while, Irma pulled back and asked softly, "Did you find who did that to my poor Pippin?"

Lena shook her head regretfully. "No, I wish I had. But whoever was sick enough to commit such an atrocity was gone before I found you. I was hoping that you . . . had seen who had done it."

"No. When I entered the library, he was lying there . . . like that. I believe who ever did it came up behind me and hit me."

"But why? What purpose did it serve, to hurt Pippin and then you?"

"I think it may have been a warning of some sort." Irma frowned, then stopped talking as a young Healer entered, a smile upon his face.

"Hello. My name is Healer Gordon, Irma." He introduced himself. "Welcome back." He ran his wand over her, casting a standard diagnostic. "Your vital signs are good, but I'll need to ask you a few questions to test your memory."

"My memory is as good as ever, young man, I assure you," Irma told him firmly. "Nevertheless, I shall let you do your job. Ask away."

The Healer began asking a standard battery of questions, starting with the usual name, age, occupation, and address.

Irma answered them all precisely, he recorded the answers on his clipboard, then asked more difficult ones. To his delight, the librarian responded promptly and coherently.

"Well, it would seem you've suffered little to no memory loss, Madam Pince. I am going to recommend you be discharged in a few hours, as soon as Healer Mordecai arrives, since he's the senior Healer assigned to your case," said Healer Gordon, and then he left them alone.

Lena was so happy she was almost jumping up and down. "Oh, thank Merlin! I was so afraid that you wouldn't . . . come back to me. I've been praying and hoping . . . Mum sent a basket of your favorite spreads and jams and crumpets and muffins, and Dad sent some crazy singing flowers . . ."

"Singing flowers?" exclaimed Irma.

"They're plastic, not real, and they run on batteries," Lena giggled. "They're silly but cute." She picked up a plastic pot with some pink and red carnations and pushed a small button on the side. The flowers began to bob up and down and a voice sang "Get Well Soon, We Miss You."

They brought a smile to Irma's face. "Your dad's a sweetheart, Lena. I shall have to write and thank him and Morgana too. How are things with the library?"

"As well as can be expected. We—Severus and I—cleaned up the mess and later on Severus and Skullduggery buried Pippin. Skull even called a Raven Guide to lead Pippin down the Gray Road."

Irma wiped her eyes again. The loss of her familiar cut her deeply and it would be a long time before she recovered from the shock of losing her faithful companion. "How kind of them. How long was I asleep?"

"Over a week," Lena said. She gestured to a table filled with cards and small gifts. "Several of the students sent these for you." She picked up a shiny leather book. "This one is from Harry Potter."

Irma took the book, it was a copy of the classic Rudyard Kipling book, _Just So Stories. _There was a short note which read:

_Dear Madam Pince, _

_Please get well soon, I miss seeing you in the library. When you wake up, I hope you'll read this book, it's an old Muggle classic that Professor Snape suggested. I especially like the story of How the Alphabet Was Made. _

_Your friend, _

_Harry Potter._

"What a thoughtful and sweet child!" Irma said. She loved books of any kind, and this one was new to her, as she didn't get many Muggle books.

Severus entered the hospital room at that precise moment, and upon seeing the book in Irma's hands, felt his heart start to crumble to pieces with anguish. "I . . . hope I'm not interrupting," he began, trying to regain his composure. It was not easy.

"Severus!" Lena cried, running over to hug him. "Look! Aunt Irma's finally awake!" she sounded like an excited schoolgirl. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Severus made himself smile quietly. He was glad that Irma was awake, for the librarian was his good friend, and this would have been cause for a celebration, if only Harry were not missing. But the boy's absence dimmed any joy Severus felt. "It's good you're back, Irma."

Lena stiffened, her uncanny intuition telling her something was wrong. She gently drew away from Severus and looked at him sharply. "Something's happened. Severus, what's going on?"

He arched an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"I just know. You're upset, I can tell. Without reading your mind. Where's Skull? And Harry? Last time we spoke, you promised to bring him."

Severus silently cursed the Ravenclaw's uncanny perception. But he couldn't deny it, she was right. And he needed their help. "Skullduggery is away, paying off the debt he owes Thunderbird. And Harry . . . Harry has gone missing in the Forbidden Forest."

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Fred and George had to grab breakfast on the run, they were late getting to the hall because they were brewing an experimental licorice whip in dungeon number three, which Snape had told them they could use that morning. "But mind you, if you twist your tongue into knots with this experiment, boys, don't come crying to me to fix you. You're old enough to take the consequences of your own actions. So if I were you, I'd make sure you had a counterdraft ready in case something goes wrong," he warned.

The twins were clever potion makers, and usually did not expect him to get them out of their own messes. Although one time they had almost poisoned themselves and Skullduggery had fetched him; he'd had to give both youngsters a strong purgative, and kept watch over them for several hours until the misbrewed potion had worked its way out of their systems, then sent them to the Hospital Wing. The memory of that incident still made them blush, but they also were grateful to their potions professor for saving them and keeping his silence. Ever since then, he had made them promise to let him know when they were experimenting, so he could check on them when necessary.

But this time they hadn't needed supervision, the licorice adders, candy that made you hiss like a snake for ten minutes, had turned out well. Only it made them late for breakfast, and they had only time to slip a muffin into their pockets before heading off to class. They noticed that everyone, especially McGonagall, seemed strangely subdued that afternoon.

"What's wrong with everyone today, twin?" asked Fred.

"I don't know. Maybe somebody died? Like the Minister's Undersecretary?" answered George.

"Umbridge? Then we'd be having a party, George. Everyone hates her," Fred disagreed.

Shrugging, they went to get changed for Quidditch practice.

Once on the pitch, they noticed Wood wringing his hands and looking extremely tense. Since Wood usually got worked up at practices, they thought nothing of it until everyone except Harry was there. George frowned. "Hey, Wood, where's our shooting star Seeker?"

"Harry's late, and that's not like him," Fred remarked. "Is he sick again?"

"No, he's missing," growled Oliver. "Where were you this morning that you missed the big announcement?"

"We were experimenting," George said.

"You should see our—"

"—licorice adders!"

"Never mind the sweets!" Oliver said irritably. "Potter's been missing since last night."

"McGonagall gave all the firsties detention in the forest with Hagrid and something came and stole away Harry," Alicia cried.

"Stole him away?" exclaimed the twins.

"That's what Ron and Neville said," Angelina told them. "They were there when the vampire came after them."

"Vampire?"

"You can ask your brother about it later," Oliver broke in with a sigh. "Right now we'd better get practicing, before Slytherin comes."

"But . . . we need a Seeker!" protested Fred, dismayed.

"You think I don't know that, Weasley?" growled Oliver.

"Who's searching for Harry?" George demanded. "Surely Dumbledore isn't going to allow him to stay lost."

"Or Snape, for that matter," Fred added. "Potter's his ward now, and Snape practically had a coronary with the dragon stunt. Ron said he was worse than the Pendragon mama."

"Snape and McGonagall were out there last night searching and couldn't find him," Katie said. "I hope he's just hiding somewhere and isn't hurt or . . . or eaten."

All of them shivered. Oliver scowled. "Okay, enough! We're here to practice Quidditch not speculate on Potter dying." He released all the balls except for the Snitch into the air, then leaped on his broom and flew up to the goal rings.

It was a dismal practice, mostly because the team's mind was not on their game, but their missing teammate. Oliver called a halt after an hour, disgusted and upset.

While they had been flying, several other students had gathered to watch the practice, including some Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins.

Oliver landed on the ground, looking about to have a screaming fit. "We're going to have another practice the day after tomorrow and you had better play better than you did today, or else!"

"But Oliver, all of us are worried about Harry," objected Katie. "It's hard to stay focused."

Oliver threw up his hands. "What do you expect me to do about it? Conjure Potter out of thin air? I wish I could, then I wouldn't be stuck wondering how the blazes we can still play in the game in a few days. Without a Seeker we'll have to forfeit!"

"Why can't you just get a new Seeker?" asked Craven, coming over to them.

"Why can't we just get a new Seeker?" Oliver exploded. "Because, Craven you jackass, Seekers like Potter don't grow on trees!"

"Potter this and Potter that!" Craven mocked. "Personally, I say we're well rid of the brat. Not only is he nothing but trouble, he's a snake lover too. Gryffindor's better off without him."

Before any of the Quidditch team could protest, a quiet voice drawled behind them, "Looks like Gryffindors don't practice what they preach, eh? Thought all you lions were loyal and true. One mistake and you're ready to throw Potter to the wolves?"

They whirled around to see a tall Slytherin fifth year in Quidditch robes walking towards them. It was Mark Tarrent.

"Not us, mate. Craven's an ass," George snapped, glaring at him.

"I'd have to agree," sneered Tarrent.

"Who asked you, viper face?" Craven taunted.

Tarrent's eyes narrowed. "If I were you, kid, I'd watch my mouth. Before you get my fist in it. Didn't your prefect ever teach you about House loyalty, you little rat?"

"Potter disgraced our House!" Craven snarled. "Why should I stick up for him? He's a two-faced little creep!"

Tarrent just shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? You Gryffindors like to boast about how proud you are to have Potter in your House, but when push comes to shove, you abandon him like a stray kitten. Now _that's_ disgraceful."

"We haven't!" Alicia cried.

"Why would you care anyhow, Tarrent?" Oliver demanded.

"I care because ever since Potter became the professor's ward, it made him family. He's Slytherin by adoption now, and we snakes look after our own—even if they are annoying little brats that get in trouble all the time, like Malfoy. Hell, even Malfoy straightened himself out now."

Craven's eyes bugged out. "You hear that?" he shrilled. "See? Potter's a traitor! I was right!"

Oliver glared at the obnoxious third year. "Shut it, Craven. You just like the sound of your own voice."

But Craven ignored him, continuing to rant. "Potter's a dirty snake-loving—ack!" He choked as Tarrent grabbed him by the collar of his robes and lifted him off his feet.

"Listen, you slippery little piece of crap! I'm sick of you insulting my House. Potter's an honorary snake and there's nothing wrong with that. He's no more a traitor than Dumbledore's a dragon. You keep your mouth off him, kid, or else I'm going to jam your foot so far down your throat it'll come out your ass. Got me?"

"MMasdfthg!" Craven gasped.

Tarrent loosened his grip slightly. "What was that?"

"Okay. Okay!" the other boy gasped, red-faced.

The Slytherin set him down.

"Why didn't any of you do something?" Craven whined. "He could have killed me!"

"That might have been a blessing," Angelina snorted.

"It's your own fault," Oliver said sternly.

"You're a complete jackass!" the twins chanted, their eyes gleaming. Then they pointed their wands at their Housemate.

Suddenly there was a blue flash and then everyone started pointing and howling with laughter.

Craven turned about in circles, crying, "What is it? What did you two twits do to me?"

"Gave you exactly what you deserved," chortled Tarrent.

Craven now had a jackass's face where his rear end used to be and a rump and a tail where his face used to be.

Oliver snickered. "How long will that last?"

"Oh, quite awhile," drawled George. "But not forever, it's not permanent."

"Too bad," said Angelina. "I think it's an improvement."

Katie pulled out a mirror and showed the stricken boy what he looked like.

Craven started wailing. "No-o-o-o! I'm a jackass! Take it off!"

"Coward, it's just an Illusion Charm!" Tarrent sneered. "It's not real, otherwise you'd have been dead."

Craven ran off blubbering for McGonagall, and the rest of the Qudditch team just shook their heads.

"I wonder if we could trade him?"mused Katie.

"Yeah, like for a new Nimbus," Alicia remarked.

"I'd happily trade him for Potter," Oliver sighed.

Tarrent snorted, clearly amused. "If you're really concerned about Potter, why not join our Operation Potter Search?"

"What's that?" asked the twins.

"It's where some of my House, including myself, volunteered to go with Professor Snape into the forest and help search for Potter. Professor will only let us come if we're fifth year and over."

The twins groaned. "Dungbeetles! That leaves us out. But not you, Oliver! Or Percy!"

Oliver nodded solemnly. "I'll help. And so will Percy, I'd wager. I'll ask around and see who else wants to join." He felt slightly ashamed that Slytherins beat him in organizing a search party.

"You do that, Wood. If the professor doesn't find Potter today, we decided we'll go in with him tomorrow to help. You can meet us down by the greenhouse, okay?"

"Sure." Wood said, and started praying that Harry was found.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

"Severus, that's terrible!" Lena cried. "How did it happen?"

Severus explained, starting with the ill-fated Pendragon incident and the detentions and punishments that followed. "I don't know if you were at the castle that night, Lena, when the Astronomy Tower nearly collapsed."

"No. I was here, sleeping in the chair next to Aunt Irma," she replied. "And after hearing that crazy tale, I'm glad of it. You must have been scared out of your mind, to see Harry like that. Not to mention furious."

"I was. I couldn't believe he had risked himself like that. I punished him as both teacher and parent. I gave him detention over the weekend and I spanked him also. Minerva took points and gave all of them a session with her dunce cap and detention as well. Only I didn't know what the detention entailed until later on that night. Had I known, I would have argued against it. Or gone with them. By the time I found out from Draco and Neville, it was too late."

Irma shook her head sadly. "Have you searched for him using a Tracking Charm?"

Severus nodded. "Minerva, Hagrid, and I went back out into the forest once the other children were safely inside the school. We found nothing save his protective amulet lying on the ground next to his footprints. Neville reported that there was a revenant feeding upon a unicorn before he and the youngest Weasley boy fled. But there was no sign of it when we searched there. Dumbledore and I went again in the morning to search, and he sent Fawkes out also. None of our locator charms can get a fix on his signature. Something very powerful is blocking them, a concealment charm of the highest order."

Lena was thinking hard. She wondered if the attack on Irma and Harry going missing were connected. "Aunt Irma, I'm wondering if these two incidents are related. When you came into the library and found Pippin, did you happen to notice if anything else was out of place or missing?"

Irma slowly shook her head. "No, I . . . I was so horrified that Pippin was . . . mangled that I . . . didn't even think to look about."

"Perhaps that's what the intruder wished you to do," Severus mused. "Forgive me, Irma, but maybe the owl was killed as a distraction."

"A distraction for what?" cried the librarian.

"For the intruder's true target. I cannot help but feel that as terrible as Pippin's death was, it was done to cover up the intruder's true purpose. Irma, was there anything you have added recently to the library, anything old and rare, that would have peaked the interest of an intruder?"

"The only new books are the tomes in the Society of Ravens section, and they aren't magical," Lena interjected.

Abruptly, Irma sat up in bed, her hand groping for something about her neck. "Lena! After I was unconscious, did you take my key to the Restricted Section?"

"No, I have my own. Why?"

"Because it's gone! I had it around my neck that night, I never take it off." Irma said agitatedly. "Especially not when I . . . recently hid something in there for the Society. A few days before, I received a parcel and a letter from the Ravenmistress, instructing me as senior archivist to keep safe a very valuable and ancient spellbook. You see, there had been an attempt to rob the Vault of Ancient Texts, and the thief almost succeeded. The Ravenmistress was concerned they would strike again, and so decided to split up the texts, sending a few to different locations. Those she chose to guard them were sworn to utmost secrecy. I'm breaking my oath now because I fear the text in my possession has been stolen."

"Aunt Irma, who else knew of the text being at Hogwarts besides the Ravenmistress?" Lena inquired gently.

"No one. Even the Ravenmistress was not given the particulars, Lena. I told no one, not even you or Dumbledore."

"Could the thief have stolen your key to look for another book in the section?" Severus asked.

"Possibly. But somehow I doubt it. I fear it has gone missing . . . and only another Society member would know of its existence and seek it out." Irma said gravely. "We three are the only ones at the school, and neither of you knew about the book. So this could only mean that the thief learned of it, how I do not know, perhaps by scrying, or some other method, and came to retrieve it that night."

"If only I could check and see," Lena said. "Tell me where you hid it, Aunt Irma and what the binding looks like."

Irma sighed. "Very well, but I fear your search will go unrewarded."

"Whoever did this was once a member of the Society." Severus mused. "I fear this same person also has Harry."

"Yes, that is very likely. The thief is probably using the book to hide him from us, the book is very powerful and contains many spells of old magic." Irma sighed. "What a fool I was! I should have protected the book better."

"It's not your fault, Aunt Irma. How could you know an enemy was inside Hogwarts and waiting to attack you in your own library?" Lena said. "The whole premise is absurd!"

"Nevertheless, I am responsible. We must recover the book. In the wrong hands it can cause great harm." Irma said. She leaned close and whispered the location and description of the book, though not its name. "Go quickly and return quickly, Lena. And be careful."

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Severus offered.

"Please stay here with Aunt Irma. Now that she's awake . . . the thief may try to return and finish what he or she started. I can protect myself. It's very difficult to surprise a telepath." Lena said. Then she shrouded herself in her cloak and vanished.

Severus seated himself next to Irma's bed. His face was lined deeply with worry. "Irma, would you happen to know who has been dismissed or cast out of the Society recently?"

The librarian was silent for several long minutes, searching her memory for the information she needed. "There were only three that I recall being turned out within the last five or ten years. One was a young man named Theodric Horn, he was discovered trying to sell one of our artifacts on the black market. He was given a trial and Obliviated, so it couldn't be him. Another one was Jeoffrey Maitland, he was a relative of Lucius Malfoy, and was close to making master status when it was discovered that he was still a follower of You-Know-Who. He was cast out, but fled before we could use a Memory Charm. Then there was young Marlene McKinnon, she was convinced the Society would help her in her quest for revenge—she wants to destroy all the Death Eaters, since they destroyed her family and almost killed her as well. She was such a bright student when I knew her in school. It's such as shame that such a fine mind could be so twisted by vengeance. She asked to be initiated, but the Ravenmistress felt that she was too . . . unstable, we do not as a rule seek vengeance against our fellow wizards, and Marlene was consumed by it. We regrettably had to let her go, but I have heard that she was employed by the Ministry as a personal bodyguard to UnderSecretary Umbridge."

Severus stiffened when he heard McKinnon's name. "I remember her from school. She was a Gryffindor and obsessed with Sirius Black. She used to fawn all over him and follow him everywhere making eyes at him. It was revolting. She even tried to tell Lily not to be my friend, but Lily always ignored her." Until that fateful day at the lake during fifth year.

Irma chuckled. "Black always had girls eyeing him, for all he was a troublemaker. I guess there's something about a bad boy that draws silly girls to them like moths to a flame. I'm not surprised she had a crush on him."

Severus rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying that only a girl with air between her ears would be interested in bloody Sirius Black. "So . . . we have Maitland and McKinnon as suspects. If I had to choose . . . I'd say Maitland is behind the theft. If the book is as powerful as you say, then he would definitely want it. The greatest goal of all Death Eaters is to resurrect their dark lord."

Irma nodded gravely. "He would be at the top of my list also. He would have studied in the vaults and he was strong in magic and cunning enough to try and rob the vault. If he had the backing of the Malfoys, he would dare much. And he never liked animals . . . all the familiars disliked him. Whoever killed my Pippin was a very sick person, one lacking any kind of common decency." She brushed at the tears flowing from her eyes.

Severus handed her a handkerchief and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm very sorry for your loss. I know how much he meant to you. Skullduggery and I gave him a proper burial and Skull called a Guide to show him the way upon the Gray Road. He is safe now in the Realm of the Dead."

"I know. Lena told me. Thank you for that, Severus. It helps, knowing he's in a better place, especially after the way he . . ." She choked up then, and began to cry into the handkerchief. She would miss the little elf owl so much! He had been her constant companion for over twenty years. Losing him was like losing a part of herself.

Severus reached out cautiously and put his arm around the distraught witch. He truly felt for her, knowing he would be shattered if he had lost Skullduggery that way, for he, like Irma, relied upon his raven for companionship. He did not bother telling her that things would get better, for he knew that was the last thing she wanted to hear right then. So he simply held her, wordlessly providing her with silent sympathy.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Lena quickly crossed the grounds and entered the castle, making her way up to the library at lightning speed. Luckily, most of the students' classes had been let out for the day so she didn't have to answer any questions about how her aunt was or where to find a book in the library. She had lowered her shields as well, but there was no one lurking in the shadows, the only minds she sensed was those of young students studying or griping about homework or detention.

She made her way over to the Restricted Section, and unlocked the door to the annex with her key. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and moved five shelves down and six over, running her fingers over the spines of the books. She felt the crackle of ambient magic as she did so. Silently she counted in her head down the row of books until she came to the fourth wooden post that divided the sections. She carefully placed her hands in fan fashion on the post, with the tips of her thumbs touching.

Then she bowed her head, summoning her magic. "Know thyself," she spoke in Greek.

Her hands flared with brilliant green light and the energy radiated outward, revealing a small hidden door in the post.

Lena gently tugged the door open and felt about in the dark space beyond.

But the secret cupboard was empty, its treasure gone.

Lena swore softly and closed the cupboard. A quick motion of her hand restored the post and hid the cupboard once more.

Irma had been right. The thief had been after the ancient text. They would all have to be very careful, for the fugitive was desperate, dangerous, and depraved. Poor Harry! Lena thought, her heart going out to the boy. What sort of torment must he be going through? She only hoped they could find him before it was too late.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry had fallen asleep in spite of himself after Marlene had left the room. But now he was wide awake and itching to explore the place. He knew he had to find a way out of here. But first he needed to figure out where things were in the house and find his wand. Then he would bide his time until an opportunity presented itself to escape.

He padded over to the door and turned the knob. Thankfully it wasn't locked. He padded quietly down the hall in his socks, trying all four doors in the hallway. The one to the right of his room was the loo, opposite was a closet. The door down from the bathroom was locked. Across from it was what looked like a walk in closet with several cloaks, capes, and robes, all in differing hues and materials.

He reached the end of the hallway and peered out into a large sitting room with a crackling fireplace. A sofa colored brick red was across from it, and the whole room was done in reddish-brown earth tones. A large rug with a lion rampant was in front of the hearth. There was a large bookshelf on the right hand side of the fireplace. On the left was a large wooden stand, sort of like the podium in the Great Hall where Dumbledore stood to give announcements.

Only this one had a scrolled top and held a very large book. Harry had never seen a book so big in his life, it was almost as thick as the dictionary, and half the size of the coffee table in front of the sofa. Something about the book seemed to call to him and he approached it carefully. The cover was a vibrant silver, with golden clasps. The silvery material was not leather, but some sort of animal hide, with tiny scales, like a snake's. Or perhaps . . . a dragon's. There were runes upon the cover which Harry couldn't read. An emerald carved in the shape of an eye was beneath them.

Harry placed his hand on the cover. It felt warm to the touch, and suddenly the runes rearranged themselves into words he could understand.

_The Codex Magicka_.

Harry felt an urge to open the book. His fingers skimmed the pages and clicked the clasp open.

_Welcome, child of prophecy. I have waited long for one such as you to find me. Open me, and I shall teach you all the secrets of the ancients. _

Harry was so startled he nearly stumbled backwards. _Who said that?_

_I did. _

_You're a talking book?_

_I am a magical repository of all the spells of the ancients._

_Can you help me get out of here? I want to go home._

_I want the same thing. Take me with you, boy._

Harry was about to open the book when there came sudden footsteps behind him.

"Harry James Potter, get your hands off that book! _Now_!"


	28. Skating on the Edge of Disaster

**28**

**Skating on the Edge of Disaster**

Harry looked up in alarm to see a very angry Marlene bearing down upon him. Her eyes were burning with fury and she looked ready to throttle him with her bare hands. He slowly backed away from the book, his eyes wide. "Aunt Marlene!" he exclaimed. "I . . . I just wanted to have a look—"

The angry witch came to stand in front of the podium. "That book, young man, is a very ancient and dangerous spellbook. You had no business laying a finger on it! Didn't anyone ever teach you not to touch magical objects you know nothing about? Or that belong to other people?"

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, hoping to appease her. He had a feeling he was on dangerous ground. "All I did was open the clasp. If the book shouldn't be touched, why isn't it locked up?"

Her eyes narrowed. "If I don't wish to lock up a book in my home, that is my decision. Don't be cheeky. You are never to touch this book again, am I understood? I don't need your grubby fingers all over it, and I doubt if you will understand anything in it. I will not tolerate any disobedience, Harry James. I told you to stay in your room and here I find you wandering about, touching spellbooks that aren't yours." Her mouth narrowed to a thin cold line. "I'm going to teach you a lesson, young man. Hold out your hand."

Puzzled, Harry did as she asked, holding his hand out with the palm facing up. There was a loud hiss and then a ruler came out of nowhere and smacked him across the hand three times with the ruler. Harry yelped, unable to help himself. "Oww! But I didn't do anything to the book! I didn't know I couldn't touch it."

"Don't make excuses for yourself." She said in a cold tone. "Like a coward Slytherin."

"Slytherins aren't cowards and I'm not making excuses," Harry blurted before he could think better of it.

"How dare you contradict me? I'm your elder and your godmother!" she snapped.

Harry yelled in pain as the ruler promptly smacked him hard on the bum. He jumped and tried to turn about, but the ruler followed him and whacked him several more times, until his bottom was throbbing and he was sobbing softly.

"Are you going to answer me back again?" she growled.

Harry shook his head, tears streaming down his face. He was cradling his hand against his chest and his other hand was covering his backside, where the ruler hovered. He wasn't sure which hurt more, his hand or his bottom.

"Good," she purred. There was an odd light in her eyes, almost like satisfaction, when she gazed at him. "Have you learned your lesson then, child?"

"Yes," he managed to say.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Aunt Marlene."

"Make sure you remember it, or next time you'll get worse," she stated, and her eyes were cold and merciless. The ruler vanished with a pop.

Harry shuddered at the look she gave him. It was a look one might have given a misbehaving dog or a slave. It was not a look one would have given a beloved nephew. Harry quickly wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He had never been beaten before, and to have gotten in such trouble over an innocent mistake and a cheeky remark seemed monstrously unfair. Even Snape at his worst had never harmed him so badly. Harry wondered what Marlene would think if she knew that she was more of a tyrant that the Head of Slytherin and more vicious in her punishments than even his relatives.

He looked down and avoided her eyes, but not because he was frightened of her. Well, he was frightened of what she might to do him and that she seemed crazy with hatred towards anyone who was Slytherin or who defended them. But he was not cowed by her viciousness, as she wished him to be. He also had no respect for her and certainly did not like her at all. She was obsessed and cruel towards anyone who didn't see her viewpoint and his biggest fear was being stuck here.

Abruptly, Marlene placed her hand on his shoulder and said, in a mild voice totally the opposite of what she had been using before, "Come now, don't sulk. That's not the way a Gryffindor should behave. You should accept your punishment gracefully and learn from it."

_What am I supposed to learn from it? That you're an unfair bitch?_ He thought defiantly. _I already knew that!_ He struggled to keep his face neutral, and not full of defiance and anger. He thought of Severus, and somehow it calmed him. He prayed that Snape and Skull would find him soon. He didn't know how much more he could take of this crazy woman.

Marlene tipped his chin up, forcing him to look at her. "I'm sorry," he made himself say, his voice meek. "I'll behave from now on."

"I'm glad to hear it. Come, follow me, and I shall show you the rest of my home." She beckoned him to follow her out of the den and down a short hallway. "Here is the dining room and kitchen. I don't do much cooking, that's why I have Prissy, my house elf. She's served the McKinnon's for generations."

Harry looked about, not seeing anyone. "Where is she?"

"Oh, you won't see her, my servants don't show themselves to anyone but family. A good servant should be invisible." Marlene said in a somewhat condescending tone. "Had you been raised by your parents, you would have learned that already. Potter Manor had many house elves, and most you never saw, only the results of their handiwork, like a clean room or a meal presented or clothes cleaned."

She moved onto another room. "Here is where I brew my potions, this is not to be entered by you at all." She indicated a room that looked similar to the potions lab at school, only smaller and decorated in Gryffindor red and gold. "There are other rooms along here, empty ones now. Ah, here is one you may like. This was our playroom, my brother's and mine."

She opened the door to a rather large room with colorful pictures of mythical creatures painted on it. Inside were bookshelves with colorful books on them, a small table and chairs, couches and a box full of toys. On the table was a chess set, a deck of cards, and some parchment and quills with ink. There was rug on the floor patterned with several jungle animals.

"You may spend as much time as you wish in here," she said, acting as if she were conferring a great honor on him.

Harry nodded. He thought he was too old for this room, but didn't bother to point it out. There was a window here and Harry went to look out of it.

It looked over a broad sweep of lawn with some trees, but Harry recognized none of it. It could have been anywhere in England or Scotland. It might not have even been real, he thought, recalling how the Slytherins had charmed windows in their common room, which was under the lake. He turned to Marlene. "It looks nice out. Can I go take a walk?"

"No, dear. Not right now. Perhaps some other time." She led him back down the hallway and into the dining room. "Would you care to have tea?" She clapped her hands. "Prissy! Bring us some tea!"

Harry felt more than heard something brush past him. But just as he turned to see what it could have been, Marlene said, "You may sit down, Harry. Tea shall be served shortly."

He made his way gingerly to a chair with a plump cushion and eased himself down on it. It hurt, but he didn't complain, doubtless Marlene would tell him it was his own fault. He couldn't believe she expected him to just have tea with her as if she hadn't beaten him for a mistake. But her face was smooth and serene, maybe that had been commonplace when she had grown up here.

The tea arrived on a silver tea service and there were also some small sandwiches of cress and ham and shortbreads with jam. There were gooseberry tarts and lemon curd custard. Marlene ate daintily and quickly. Harry ate too, the small sandwiches and tarts barely filled him up, but he was careful not to eat too much, and to hold his teacup with his left hand, since his right was still sore and had marks across the palm.

As she poured herself a cup of tea, Marlene tried to strike up a conversation with him. "Did anyone ever tell you about the first time your mum took your dad out on a date?"

Harry looked up from his perusal of the tea service, now why would she bring that up? "No. I . . . I don't really know too much about them."

Marlene gave a small smirk. "Well, I was there from the beginning, and I know more about them than anyone, except perhaps Sirius. Lily wasn't too keen on your dad at first, because he used to hex stupid Slytherins like Snivellus, and once she had been his friend. But I convinced her to give James a try, I said there was no sense in her mooning over a slimy snake who would have turned dark with or without her. You see, at one point she was almost going to forgive that scumsucker, she thought she could _save_ him from the darkness or some such rot!" Marlene laughed, a bitter brittle laugh.

Harry was silent, but inside he was cheering. Then he sobered, because obviously the reconciliation had never happened. "How did you convince her not to?"

"Well, I was her best friend, you know, besides Alice Longbottom. She trusted me. One night I followed some of those snakes across the grounds, they were all Death Eater sons, and I took a picture of them all huddled about some pentacle, I think they were trying to summon up a revenant, and there was one there that sort of looked like greasy Snivellus. And for all I knew it could have been. It probably was. But I wasn't going to get close enough to get caught. So I took it and showed it to Lily. I told her Snape was there at the meeting, that he was a waste of her time."

"Then she gave up on him?" Harry asked. He longed to shout that she was a lying piece of crap, but didn't dare.

"No, she was stubborn and for some reason refused to believe there wasn't good in him still. But I eventually convinced her he was nothing but an evil manipulative bastard that used her for her own ends. She was depressed at first, and wanted nothing to do with James. But then I brewed her some Calming Draughts and helped her put all her memories of Snivellus as her friend inside her mind and ignore them. Because who needed him anymore?"

Harry gaped at her, wondering if he understood her correctly. "You . . . you made her forget things?"

"Forget things? Like a Memory Charm? No, nothing so drastic. I just helped her put the memories away somewhere in her mind and she threw away the key. From then on, she never mentioned Snivellus again, and when he tried to speak to her, she turned and walked away. But enough about that Death Eater. What's important is your mum and dad . . ."

Harry listened as she recited a rather saccharine story about Lily and James' first date at Hogsmeade at Madam Puddifoot's shop. She made it sound like they were madly in love, but Harry thought it seemed rather sudden. Did one really fall in love that quickly? He would have thought it would take more time. Not that he didn't believe his parents had loved each other, but . . . the way Marlene told it sounded rather like a fairy tale. Like when the prince woke the fair maiden with a kiss and she loved him instantly.

The other thing that kept going through his head was that Marlene had somehow convinced Lily to forget Severus. And that was scary. What if she tried the same thing on him? He knew he couldn't let that happen, but how would he know she was even doing it, if he had forgotten the person he was supposed to remember?

Marlene prattled on and on about what a perfect couple Lily and James had made and how brave James was and how Lily was brilliant with charms and potions. Harry listened with half an ear, for he didn't trust Marlene to tell him the truth. Not after what he had seen her do and she had done to him. He pushed his plate back. "I'm finished. Thank you."

He would have tried to leave, he was hurting still and wanted to go back and lie down, but she insisted he stay and pulled out an old blue leather album, which contained pictures of Marlene, Sirius, Lupin, and the Potters. Harry would have enjoyed the pictures more without Marlene's input. He tried to feel a connection between the people in the photos and himself, but he couldn't. It was like looking at characters in a book, they had shape but no substance. He stared at a picture of Sirius, thinking he was a nice fellow, and it was too bad they couldn't meet one day, but that was unlikely considering he was in Azkaban. He felt himself start to drift off, for Marlene's voice was soporific

He heard the thunk of something being set down in front of him. He noticed it was a potion of some sort. "What's that?"

"A pain reliever," she replied. "Go on, drink up!"

Harry hesitated, but with Marlene here, there was no way he could pretend to drink the potion. He took a swallow and then another. It didn't taste bad and it did numb the pain from him. He stood up and said, "May I be excused, please? I'm kind of tired."

"Yes, run along and take a nap. I need to do some research. Dinner is at 7 and after we can talk more about your parents. I have lots of stories to tell from their schooldays and after you were born." She waved him off.

Harry went gratefully. As soon as he reached his room, he looked for a quill and parchment. Then he began to write, leaning over the nightstand.

**My name is Harry James Potter.**

**I am a Gryffindor at Hogwarts**

**My guardian is Severus Snape**

**He has a familiar named Skull, who calls me bran-boy.**

**I was brought here against my will**

**I need to escape this crazy woman who calls herself my godmother**

**Not all Slytherins are bad**

**I trust Severus, he is a good man**

**My mum trusted Severus, he was her friend**

**Marlene lies, she can't be trusted.**

**I must get away, and remember this**

**Please Severus, find me soon!**

He let the ink dry, the stuffed the paper into his pillow, where it would crackle when he lay down, reminding him that it was there. He figured he would look at it every night before he went to bed and so remember what he needed to.

He put his head down and soon fell asleep.

In his dreams he heard the voice of the book again, calling him.

_Child of prophecy, come to me. You are the one destined to inherit me. _

_I can't! She'll . . . she'll kill me._

_Not if she does not know you are there. Come to me when the clock chimes three AM. There are things you must learn and only a limited time in which to do so._

_Can you help me escape?_

_Come and find out._

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry woke and felt a little bit better than before, though he was still tender. He recalled the strange yet familiar voice in his dream, and he knew it was the book. The book had called to him. But had it been real or just a dream? He walked down to the dining room after checking his watch, it was almost seven. As he passed the book sitting upon its pedestal, he thought he saw the emerald eye wink at him. He concealed a smile. He would return at 3 in the morning and see what the book wanted. Whatever it wished couldn't be half as bad as what Marlene wanted.

Dinner that night was baked chicken with thyme and rosemary seasoning, mashed potatoes, and broccoli, plus small rolls with butter. The only thing Harry really liked about being here was that the food was good, as good as the food at school. But he didn't drink the pumpkin juice, for he suddenly recalled that Marlene could put a potion into it. He would wait and drink some water from the tap in the loo before going to bed.

After they had eaten the strawberry trifle, Marlene took Harry into the den and began regaling him with all sorts of stories about Quidditch games James had played in and won, and pranks he had played with Sirius, and the rest of the Marauders. Harry would have liked her to go into more detail about the Quidditch games, so he could maybe pick up some tips, but Marlene only knew things like how many goals James scored and not strategy. Some of the pranks were amusing, but Harry didn't like the fact that Marlene said Slytherins were their usual targets. At least when the twins pranked people, they did so to everyone, in all the Houses, even their own.

But Marlene seemed not to notice his disapproval, and continued her rant against Slytherins and Death Eaters. Her words were pure vitriol, and they sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"Someday, I shall rid the world of the Death Eaters . . . all of them. I have the power now to do it. I have all the ancient might of the Codex Magicka at my command."

Harry guessed that was the name of the ancient book. "Where did you get it?"

"From the Society of Ravens."

"You're a member?" Harry was in shock. Marlene was the last person he'd ever expect to belong to that!

"No, I was an initiate," Marlene said, her lips pursed. "They told me I was too unstable and they refused to let me advance further."

Harry could definitely see why. Of course, he wasn't about to say that and risk a second session with her bloody ruler. So what he said instead was, "Oh, that's too bad."

"Yes, it rather was. But no matter, I have what I wanted now anyway. For all their knowledge and magic, they didn't even think about countering an undead. Revenants are smarter than your average ghost, more powerful, and they can walk through walls and scan minds." Marlene said smugly.

Harry didn't know what she was talking about. But whatever sort of creature Marlene liked he was sure he wouldn't. He changed the subject back to his parents, and asked if Lily had ever invented potions or spells. Marlene told him that yes, his mother had invented a potion or two with that worm Snivellus, and she had invented several spells in charms and won Flitwick's Most Ingenious Student Award.

"How about my dad?"

"Your dad was excellent at Transfiguration. And he became an Animagus in his third year, which is exceedingly rare, since most students can't even learn that spell until fifth year. His form was a white stag."

"That sounds neat!" Harry said excitedly. He wondered if he would ever be able to change shape, and if so, what he would be.

"Indeed. I wouldn't doubt you've inherited his talent as well. What subjects do you excel at, Harry?"

"Umm . . . I'm good at Defense, and Potions and Charms. I still have a bit of trouble with Transfiguration and History of Magic, and I'm okay in Astronomy and pretty good in Herbology." Harry said honestly.

Marlene's face twisted into a grimace when she heard Harry say he was good at potions. She knew quite well who the potions teacher was at Hogwarts and she couldn't stand when Snape the creep was shown in a good light. "You must have inherited your mother's aptitude for potions then, because I can't imagine Snape being a good teacher," she sneered. "Tell me, Harry, has he ever issued detention to you?"

"Yes."

"And I'll bet it was an unfair one, wasn't it?" she probed, malice in her gaze.

"Uh, actually, it was—"

"That's what I thought," she declared, not letting Harry finish. "Has he started spouting any propaganda yet about serving You-Know-Who? Or how magic is might? That's their slogan, you know. If I were Dumbledore, I would sack Snape on the spot. It's criminal, letting someone like that teach children! How good of a teacher can he be, with his background?"

Harry stiffened, wanting to tell her off good. But his backside twinged, and he shut his mouth. Severus would have told him that discretion was the better part of valor here. Besides, he knew she would never believe him if he told her that Severus was a good teacher, if a very strict one. So he said nothing, and let her draw her own conclusions, which she would have anyhow.

"Well, you won't have to put up with _his_ wretched instruction any longer, dear. Because now I shall teach you everything you need to know," Marlene purred, she reached out a hand and trailed it through Harry's hair.

He struggled not to flinch away in revulsion. "Yes, Aunt Marlene," he forced himself to say.

She carded his hair for a few more moments, looking at him with a sickly sweet smile. "Poor child, you have had a hard life, but that shall change now that you live with me. I shall help you on your way to greatness, Harry. And be the mother you've never had."

Harry felt like he wanted to vomit. Her sudden mood changes made his skin crawl. One minute she was a raving lunatic and the next she acted like she was all sweetness and light and concerned over his welfare. It made Harry even more desperate to get away from here. If only he knew where here was and how to escape without Marlene finding out. But he forced himself to act pleased at her display of affection, smiling woodenly and saying thank you then looking at his feet.

Marlene laughed, a tinkling eerie sound, and said, "Oh, Harry! Have I embarrassed you? I forget, you boys aren't as comfortable with affection as girls are. But you are a son to be proud of, never doubt that."

Harry wondered if now were a good time to ask where his wand was. He would need it before he left. "Umm . . . Aunt Marlene? When can I have my wand back?"

"When you need it for lessons. You know you're not allowed to use magic without adult permission outside of school," she declared, frowning.

Harry almost choked at the ridiculousness of that statement. First she claimed she wanted to tutor him herself, then she acted like she still had to follow Hogwarts rules, even though she didn't want him going to Hogwarts! He wished he knew how that made sense. Maybe it only made sense to mad people. Perhaps when he visited the book, he could figure out where Marlene kept his wand. He feigned a yawn and murmured, "I'm really tired, Aunt Marlene. I'm going to bed."

"That's fine, dear. You need all the sleep you can get. Good night, Harry." She pressed her cool dry lips to his forehead.

Harry froze. When she released him, he said a quick good night and scurried down the hall. He entered the bathroom and spent the next five minutes scrubbing his face ad trying to control the shivers that wracked him.

He crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, praying that she wouldn't come in to check on him. He carefully reached under his pillow and read the list of things he'd composed to remind him of himself just in case she tried to make him forget. Then he slid the paper back inside and buried his face in the pillow.

He feared he would never sleep, but then he found his eyes closing, and the next time he opened them, it was because he heard the clock in the den chiming three o'clock.

He cautiously slipped from the bed and opened the door. The only light was a dim bulb in the ceiling, just enough to light his way to the loo. But it was enough for him to see to make his way to the den. Before entering, he peered around the corner, half-expecting to see Marlene lurking in her nightgown holding a paddle. But there was no sign of her and the book seemed to glow in the moonlight streaming in from the double window.

Harry approached, and his fingers closed about the cover. He felt a quiver of power race through him as the book stirred and woke. _Good. You are here at last. _

_I am,_ Harry answered silently. _Can you help me get out of here?_

_Not directly. I am only parchment and ink, I don't have legs or wings. _

_You've got magic though. Loads of it. Mad Marlene thinks you're going to give her the power to annihilate the Death Eaters. _

_She is very mistaken. I call no mad witch mistress. I would put no power in the hands of the insane, and she has a personality disorder. _

_Tell me about it. One minute she's blistering my bum over touching something I had no idea I wasn't allowed to touch and the next she's calling me her son and petting me like the family dog. Ugh!_

He felt a sudden surge of something rather like sympathy from the book. _I am sorry you had to endure that. It is not meet for her to treat you so. Fear not, youngling, I shall teach you what you need to know to slip her leash. And all I ask in return is that you take me with you when you leave. _

_Thanks! I can do that. Uh, am I gonna need my wand? Because I don't know where she hid it._

_No. Because the power is within you, little one. You are a wielder of the Old Magic, and as such you possess powers that ordinary wizards do not. _

_I do? Skull always said I did, but . . .what are they?_

_One is instinctive, the ability to sense both good and evil in a person. The other . . . is the ability to project your spirit out of your body and into the ether between this world and the next. Some call it astral projection._

_Umm . . . and how will that help me?_

_Once you learn how to do it properly, you can escape any attempt to control your mind and you may also lead someone or something to you. _

_How, when I don't even know where I am?_

_Your actual location is irrelevant. Your spirit self will always be bound to your body, and it always knows the way back. Unless you spend too long out of your body and then the connection will fade and if that happens, you will die._

_What happens to my body while I'm out of it?_

_It goes into a deep sleep._

_Like a coma?_

_Yes, something like that. The answers to your questions are in here._ The book suddenly flew open and flipped rapidly through pages until it stopped on a page titled, _Out of Body Experiences_ and it contained answers to all the questions Harry had asked, plus several more he hadn't.

_I wish I had more time to study this._

_You shall._ Suddenly there was a viridian flash and Harry was holding a copy of the pages in his hand. _Memorize the instructions and then destroy the copy. _

_Thanks!_ Harry said happily. For the first time since waking up in here, Harry had hope that he could escape and get help. Clutching the pages to him, he tucked them in his pajama pocket.

Behind him, the Codex shut itself and the sparkle of magic died from the cover.

Harry scurried back to his room, but found he was too tired to study the pages just then. It would have to wait till tomorrow when he was more alert. He quickly hid the book's instructions under the mattress. Then he tumbled into the realm of sleep and dreamed of Skullduggery flying patrol duty in a strange forest.

**A/N: So, what do you think of Harry's attempts to fight Marlene? Is he a clever boy or what? **

**Next: Operation Potter Search and the eagerly await return of Skullduggery! Who's happy about that?**


	29. Flight of the Raven

**29**

**Flight of the Raven**

Operation Potter Search got underway at the greenhouse at eleven thirty in the morning, right after the morning classes. The Slytherins were the first to arrive, and stood calmly waiting for the Gryffindors and their professor. They consisted of four members, at their Head's insistence. They were Marcus Flint, Mark Tarrent, Nala Singh, and Jared Winters. About five minutes later they were joined by Oliver Wood, Percy Weasley, and two fifth year girls, Lauren Naylor and Serenity Jones. The two Houses mingled and began discussing how they should proceed.

Oliver and Flint got into a semi-friendly argument about what was the better locator charm to use, each one emphasizing their point with arm waving and finger pointing, until Snape swept down upon them and said in a cutting tone, "Enough, gentlemen! You are here to help me search for Mr. Potter, not engage in arguments."

Both Flint and Wood looked chagrined, and they lowered their eyes and murmured, "Sorry, Professor Snape," in subdued tones.

Severus gave a brisk nod acknowledging their apologies. "Now then, here is how we shall proceed. Each of you shall pair up, and be assigned a section of the forest surrounding the area where Potter was last seen. Each pair shall be given a map," here he paused and handed out several sheets of parchment with the map of the forest. These had been drawn by Hagrid and himself. "Each pair shall cast a Speakeasy Charm upon themselves, in case you get separated and find anything that might lead to Potter's whereabouts, you are to inform me first and then your partner. _Do_ try and stick together, as I do not want to have to search for another missing student besides Potter. Once you have patrolled your designated area—I shall mark your area upon your map—you are to return to the greenhouse, and inform me of your whereabouts. I do not want you lingering in the forest, as it is dangerous and you are not allowed to risk your lives under my supervision." Here he gave a pointed glare to the Gryffindors. "I shall assign the pairs. Listen closely, and when I call your name, stand next to your designated partner. Wood and Singh. Flint and Weasley. Tarrent and Jones. Naylor and Winters."

The students assembled themselves. The professor went around and marked the areas upon their maps with a Quill of Everchanging Ink. The students then cast the Speakeasy Charm about themselves. Then they waited for further instructions.

"We will be using more than a standard Four Points spell," Severus told them. "Standard locator charms, which latch onto a wizard's magical signature have failed to find Potter. Therefore we shall be using a different charm, one that tracks by presence of an object, or the absence thereof. I am going to give you an amulet that belonged to Mr. Potter. Hold it in your hand as you speak the charm and the spell shall attune itself using the amulet. However, you must then specify an object Potter is wearing. This will be a pocket watch. He still has it on him and it is that presence the spell will track. You should feel a firm tug as you encounter places where Mr. Potter has been, it will fade as you go places he never was."

"Sir, what if Potter was taken away by force?" asked Serenity. "Like using Apparition or a PortKey?"

"That is very possible, Jones. In that case, I shall have to formulate a charm that can track Apparition threads, which is painstaking, but Aurors sometimes use something similar to find criminals."

"How would we know if that happened?" asked Flint.

"You will know because the presence spell will lead you right back to the clearing where the unicorn died. But I would like a thorough search attempted first. One other thing, should you find anything suspicious, like pieces of cloth, a button, an object that clearly does not belong in the forest, call me immediately. If a creature happens to come by you or you feel that you are being menaced by anything, call me immediately and then attempt to leave the area. If you cannot, remain perfectly still until I arrive. Under _no_ circumstances are you allowed to play hero and try to fight the creature. Am I understood?"

There were murmurs all around. Severus demonstrated the Presence of a Personal Object charm and once he was satisfied they could all cast it, he led them into the Forbidden Forest. It was ironic, really, that Slytherins and Gryffindors were finally cooperating and the cause of it was the Boy Who Lived. Severus marveled to himself how one green-eyed boy had changed all their lives . . . and he prayed that Harry and he would be reunited soon.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Marlene's home_

_Five hours previously:_

Harry woke up around six thirty. He was hungry and thirsty, and he was eager to begin memorizing the pages the magic book had given him. But first he needed to eat, drink, and use the loo. He managed the last two quickly enough, the bathroom provided him with water to drink as well as to wash with. But now he had to get food without Marlene seeing him. He decided to plan to be sick today and stay in bed, thus giving him time to practice what he'd learned without Marlene any the wiser.

He returned to his room and sat on the bed. He was almost certain that Marlene was asleep. But at the same time he was reluctant to go down to the kitchen and search for something. Having already gotten beaten for touching the book, he didn't want to risk getting another one because he'd gone to get himself breakfast. But he had to eat, Severus had always stressed eating before attempting to cast spells or take tests. A good breakfast jump started one's metabolism and brain functions. Harry sighed. He supposed he would simply have to risk getting caught raiding the pantry.

Then he recalled the invisible house elf, Prissy. Would the elf be willing to bring him something to eat? And keep silent on what he was doing in his room?

"Prissy?" called Harry softly.

He heard a soft pop and then a small voice said, "Prissy is here, young mastah. What young mastah be needin'?"

Harry grinned, the elf's voice was a soft drawl, like honey poured from a pitcher. Experimenting, he asked, "Prissy, can you show yourself to me? It feels weird talking to the air."

"Prissy is sorry, mastah, but that be not permitted." The elf answered. "Prissy is a McKinnon elf an' we suppost to be invisible. Mistress says so."

"Oh, that's too bad. Umm . . . would you bring me some breakfast?"

"Certainly, young mastah. What be you wantin'?"

"I . . . uh . . . how about a waffle with bananas on top and some bacon, tea, and orange juice." Harry thought fast. That breakfast had protein, carbs, fruit, and sugar. It should be sufficient to sustain him while he learned how to astrally project himself.

"Young mastah's wish is Prissy's command. Be right back."

He felt more than heard the pop as she blinked away.

The elf returned with a tray bearing a piping hot waffle with sliced bananas, a pitcher of syrup, bacon, the tea and juice. She set it on a folding table in front of Harry. There was silverware and a napkin already on it.

"Would mastah be needin' anything else?"

"Uh, yeah. Could you kind of . . . not mention that I called you here and am doing an experiment in my room? I want to be left alone. It's a surprise."

"Prissy understand, young mastah. Prissy take young mastah's secret to her grave. Promise on sacred honor."

"Thanks!" Harry said. Then he began to eat while it was still hot. Halfway with a forkful of waffle to his mouth, he thought of something else. "Prissy, could you . . . deliver a message for me to someone? Someone who lives at Hogwarts school?"

"Prissy very sorry, young mastah. But Prissy not allowed to leave this house. Prissy stay here, cook, clean, keep house for Mistress. Only Mistress tell Prissy to go." There came a soft sniffling sound, as if the elf was crying.

Harry, who couldn't stand to see or hear anyone crying, said quickly, "That's all right, Prissy. Don't cry, I was just asking, it's not important." He continued eating, trying to push away the feeling of disappointment. It had been a good idea, though, he consoled himself.

"Prissy understand. Prissy glad you are nice, young mastah. Mistress is hard."

Once he had finished breakfast, it was delicious, Prissy vanished the dishes and left Harry alone.

Harry quickly pulled out the pages he'd stuffed beneath the mattress and began to read. The copied pages were written in an elegant script, which occasionally made it hard for Harry to read, but he concentrated and so managed to overcome that difficulty.

Harry read that some people were natural projectors, and they only had to put themselves into a meditative state in order to slip from their bodies. He read about how to achieve such a state, it involved being calm and relaxed and in a state somewhere between sleeping and awakening. He read that he should be lying down, covered with a blanket, and make sure no one interrupted him. The lights should be dimmed. He should focus on something pleasant or an object he was particularly attuned to.

He also discovered there was an astral state, by which he could travel to other places, like the Gray Road or another reality, and an etheric state, by which he could travel out of his body and around on the physical plane, occasionally someone might seem him, and he might be able to interact with a person who could sense such things.

It also warned of the dangers of staying too long out of your body. Otherwise you might forget yourself and become lost forever. It stressed not staying out of your body for more than ten minutes as a beginner. It stressed always making sure the silver cord that attached you to your body was still there, if it was cut, the person died. If damage was done to the body while the person was out of it, the person would feel it through the astral link. If the damage were great enough, the body would die and the link would shatter.

Harry read through the pages twice, committing them to memory. He had never been more grateful than now that he could memorize and comprehend large amounts of information

Quickly.

Once he was sure he had learnt it all, he crept out of the room and into the bathroom. He shredded the papers and tossed them into the toilet than flushed them away.

Suddenly he heard Marlene's footsteps in the hallway. He began gagging and groaning, flushed the toilet again and came out the door holding his stomach.

His "godmother" eyed him with a touch of concern. "Why, Harry, you look awfully pale! What's the matter?"

"I . . . don't feel good," he groaned. "It's my stomach. I . . .I think I'm going to lie down." Looking as pitiful as he could manage, he scurried down to his room and curled up on the bed.

"Poor dear! Maybe you have a virus," Marlene cooed, following him. "I'll give you some potions for it."

She returned a few minutes later with two vials. Harry took them and pretended to drink them. He held the contents inside his mouth and then when she turned and went out to get him some water, he spit them out of the window. He almost felt bad wasting potions like that, but he wouldn't trust Marlene if she was the last person on earth. When she returned with the water he drank small sips, and then lay down on the bed.

"You rest, dear. I'll be back later to check on you." She left.

_Pity I won't be here, or at least my mind won't be._ Harry thought. Then he tried to center himself and relax.

But it wasn't easy. His mind kept floating off on tangents, and the more he tried to focus, the more the peaceful feelings left him. Finally, after some twenty to thirty minutes, he stopped trying and just lay still. Then he stared at the ceiling and counted the tiles. He counted backwards and forwards and his eyes began to glaze over. As he felt himself enter the half-asleep state, he felt an odd tingling vibration start at his toes and work its way upward. It was sort of like the feeling you get when your hand or foot falls asleep, that prickling tingly sensation.

It was so odd that he kept half-waking and having to start over again. But after an hour and a half he managed to let the vibrating state lift his spirit partially free of his body. He soared up to the ceiling as if he was on a broom, only he felt lighter than a feather. He noticed a glittery silver cord stretching from his astral self to his body.

The sight of his body just lying there made him feel woozy and the next thing he knew he was back inside it.

He opened his eyes and looked about. He felt no different, save for being slightly woozy.

_I did it! I made myself go out,_ he thought excitedly. Now that he knew he could do it, he resolved to practice. He decided he would practice all morning, and see if he could find where Marlene had hid his wand. He needed to find that before seeking help.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, Harry ventured all the way out of his body again, and flew through the door of his room and down the hallway. His spirit self found there were no barriers to it, not even magical wards caused anything but a tingle as he went through them. He glided into Marlene's bedroom and began looking for his wand.

His spirit self could slip into any crack or inside a locked room or trunk. It took him awhile, but he finally found the wand inside a small trunk under her bed. He wanted to cheer. Of course, then there was the small matter of getting it out of the trunk. That was one thing he did not know how to do in this form. Or even if it could be done in this form.

He then decided to venture outside, a place which he had been forbidden to go. He quickly phased through the wall and found himself in a large walled in garden with dozens of magical plants, some of which Harry recognized from Professor Sprout's greenhouse. There was a path leading out of the garden and Harry followed it.

It ended upon a grassy verge and beyond that was a huge forest. Harry wondered if it were the Forbidden Forest. But he didn't dare enter it, as he felt himself suddenly grow weary and he knew he was growing tired and couldn't afford to overspend himself. So he turned away and headed back inside.

As soon as he reentered his body, he fell asleep, for Traveling was very tiring the first few times one attempted it.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Operation Potter Search was underway, but so far Harry had not been found to the east, south, or north. Severus himself took the west quadrant from the clearing where the dead unicorn had been. The unicorn had been removed by the centaurs to bury it and nothing was left save for a few splotches upon the ground. Severus would have asked to bottle some of the blood for potions, but after what had happened to his ward, didn't have the heart to ask for some. Harry's life was more important than rare potion ingredients.

As he walked through the brush towards the place where the sun set, he felt someone following him, and he spun about to see who it was. But he saw no one behind him and he was certain his fifth years would not be creeping up behind him, trying to scare him to death. His eyes narrowed and then he spotted something in the undergrowth . . . a red thread.

Scowling fiercely, Severus stalked over to the thick undergrowth and reached a hand in and grabbed a piece of fabric. With a firm heave and a tug, he pulled out a Weasley twin. Then he reached around the other side of the tree with his opposite hand and pulled out the second twin. Dragging them to stand in front of him, he gave them his fiercest Snape glare.

"Frederick and George Weasley, did I or did I not make it clear that no student under fifteen was to come searching in the forest with me? Have you suddenly gone deaf? Or are you afflicted with the teenage disease known as Willful Disobedience? I've a good mind to take twenty five points each from you and give you detention scrubbing every inch of the castle until it sparkles."

The twins hung their heads, looking repentant, but Snape wasn't fooled for an instant. "We're sorry, Professor Snape," they began.

"No, you're not. You're sorry I caught you," he corrected sternly. "What do you think you're doing out here?"

"We just wanted—"

"—to help you look for Harry."

"And who, pray tell, will be looking after _you_? I haven't the time to spare to take you back to the castle and stick you in a corner, which means you two will stick by me as close as my shadow, that way I won't have _three_ students going missing on me, clear?"

Before the twins could respond, Tarrent contacted Severus through the Speakeasy Charm, which allowed the speaker to relay messages to each other like they were right in front of them. "Professor Snape, Jones and I have found something really strange up here in the northwest quadrant. We can't see anything, but something's preventing us from walking any further in this direction. It's like an invisible wall."

"I'm on my way, Tarrent. Stay where you are and don't attempt to breach the barrier," Severus ordered. Then he looked at the twins. "You two, stay behind me and do exactly as I say. Disobey me and I'll forbid you the use of my dungeon and confiscate all your joke products for the rest of the term."

The twins paled at that threat. "We'll be good, Professor Snape," they promised in unison.

Severus snorted, but then turned and began half-running through the trees. The twins followed hot on his heels.

Severus tested the barrier, it was, as Tarrent had said, like an invisible wall stretching several kilometers across the northwestern boundary of the forest. He probed it with his magical senses, but could find no weak point. Still, it was something. He knew this barrier had not been here before, therefore it stood to reason that someone had put it up recently.

He placed his hands on it, fingers spread, and concentrated, trying to force his way past it. But the barrier merely threw his magic back at him. Frustrated he tried again and again. Finally, he decided he needed to take the students back and study some more on it. He would tell Dumbledore and Minerva and perhaps they could assist him. He felt certain that Harry was somewhere beyond that wall, held prisoner by whoever had created it.

"Good work, Jones and Tarrent," he praised his students. "Now, let us go back to the school."

"Professor, what is that barrier?" asked Serenity.

"It is a semi-permeable charm of concealment. I believe once we break it down, we shall find Mr. Potter." Severus said. "You have helped me a great deal, and now it's time for you all to return to the castle," he said, speaking to all of the students still in the forest.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry woke after sleeping four hours feeling refreshed and eager to try to project his spirit out of his body again. Marlene brought him some more potions as well as a tray with some food. Again, Harry pretended to take the potions, but excused himself to the loo afterwards, where he promptly spit them all into the toilet and rinsed out his mouth. Marlene had told him to rest and if he needed anything, to call Prissy.

"I will be in my workroom, experimenting," she told him. "You rest so you can get well, Harry. And then, once you're better, I shall begin tutoring you."

"All right, Aunt Marlene," he agreed, then waited for her to leave. He then called Prissy and asked her to bring him a sandwich and some pumpkin juice, for he didn't trust Marlene not to tamper with his food.

Prissy happily granted his request and also added a slice of apple pie.

While Harry was eating and also plotting on how to regain his wand, Marlene was calling upon the revenant she had learned how to summon from an old spellbook called the Book of Night. The Book of Night had been another text in the Society archives and she had studied but not stolen it. She had thought to use the spell, which was not considered a dark spell by the ancients, who often spoke to their dead ancestors, to resurrect her brother, but the revenant who had come was not Archer. Whom it had been in life, it would not say, but it had agreed to work with her and be her spy in the castle, as well as her instrument of revenge upon those who had slighted her and massacred her family. Now she asked for its aid once more, as she had felt strong magic probing her defenses, scrabbling at the web of concealment magics she had cast using the Codex Magicka.

"Go forth and see what my eyes cannot," she hissed, standing inside a pentagram. "Tell me who resides in the castle—has Snape returned there? Have the librarians returned and if so, does that bitch Pince recall anything about the night she was struck down? Or her wimpy niece, Lena? Watch and wait and then report back to me."

"I hunger, misstresss!" the revenant's voice echoed in her mind, for it was holed up in Forbidden Forest within a shallow grave along with a dead unicorn.

"You may hunt as you will once you have told me what I wish to know," Marlene said, satisfaction dripping from her tone. "Now . . . be off!"

The revenant emerged from the ground and soared off into the castle.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry slowed his breathing and calmed himself before once again soaring free of his body. He did a quick check to make sure Marlene was nowhere to be found in the vicinity of the bedroom before returning to his body and calling Prissy.

"What do young mastah need?" Prissy asked respectfully.

"Prissy, I need you to fetch my wand. Mistress forgot to return it to me and I need it to practice with," Harry said, telling the complete truth and hoping the elf would not question it.

"Prissy shall fetch it, young mastah," the elf said, then blinked away.

Harry held his breath, his stomach fluttering in anticipation. He prayed that the elf could undo the lock on the trunk, and also that Prissy would not think to talk to Marlene when she discovered the trunk was locked. The elf seemed to be pretty closemouthed, after all, Prissy hadn't told Marlene about Harry wandering about at three AM and bringing him dinner in his room.

A few moments later, Prissy reappeared with the wand in her hands. It appeared as if it were floating in midair. "Here it is, young mastah." Prissy said reverently.

With the wand grasped in his fist, Harry felt complete once more. "Thank you, Prissy. You're a lifesaver! And please don't tell her about this, okay?"

"Of course not, young mastah. Prissy don't know nothin' 'bout no wand gone missing." The elf said with a sly chuckle. "What Mistress don't need to know won't hurt her." Then she blinked out.

Now that he had his wand back, Harry was tempted to do something rash, like try and make a run for it and blast his way out of Marlene's home. But his cooler Slytherin side won out, and made him realize that would be foolish, since he still didn't know where he was. No, he had to find someone who could see or hear him in his spirit form, and whom he could lead back here. He couldn't become lost because he was bound to his body by the silver cord.

Harry tucked his wand up his sleeve, as he had seen Severus do. It was much easier to retrieve that way and it also didn't carry the risk of blowing off parts of one's more delicate anatomy. Then he entered the trance state again. As he glided out of his room and flittered about the den where the spellbook was, he heard the book call to him.

_I see you have managed to access your powers, youngling. That is well. But don't forget your promise . . . take me with you when you leave for good. I do not wish to be used by another power-hungry madwoman. Such was never my purpose. My purpose was to be a repository of the Old Magic, and to lend my knowledge to those who would use it wisely. For the magic, in and of itself, is not dark or light, it simply is. The one who uses it determines whether the magic shall be good or evil._

_Oh. I never knew that. Hey, I'm going out to try and find help. But I'm not sure how long it'll take to find someone that can hear or see me this way. _

_That is a quandary, young one. Perhaps I may help. Place your hand upon me._

Harry obeyed, flying down and placing his spirit hand upon the book. The book tingled sharply beneath his fingers and then he felt a jolt of pure magical energy flow through him.

_There! Now you should be able to travel as far and as fast as you need to. _

_Thank you!_

_Succeeding in your mission will be thanks enough for me,_ the book replied.

Harry nodded and soared out through the roof of the house, flying high above the manor and then he turned east and entered the forest.

He felt an odd sort of jolt when he crossed the barrier, and it threw him through the air.

When he finally stopped tumbling and was able to straighten out, he found himself in a strange twilight mist, where nothing looked at all familiar, and he drifted about trying to find the manor house, the forest, anything familiar. But all he could see was an endless mist surrounding him and nothing more. He did not know what had happened, and it scared him terribly. He knew only that he was lost and he didn't know how or why it had happened.

He floated about for endless minutes, trying to find someone or something he recognized, but there was nothing except a gray road meandering off into the distance. Some instinct kept him from following it. So he remained hovering, despair and fear grappling with him and holding him fast.

_Help! Severus! Help! Skullduggery! Help me!_ he called, sending his frantic plea out into the ether. He could only hope they could hear him. And that nothing dangerous did first. For he felt eyes watching him . . . and they did not seem friendly.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Skullduggery flew one last patrol through the borderlands before coming back to Thunderbird to report. The swift clever raven had been acting as Thunderbird's spy in his covert war with Iktome the Spider, Thunderbird's ancient enemy. Thunderbird had many allies, but none as clever or sneaky as Skullduggery, and Iktome never suspected the raven of being anything but an ordinary crow. Thus, Skull was able to collect valuable information for Thunderbird on Iktome's allies and troop movements and when Thunderbird might expect a raid on one of his territories. Thunderbird held most of the northwestern United States and part of Canada, while Iktome held the southwest and part of Mexico.

But his agreement to serve Thunderbird was done now, as it was twenty-four hours since Skullduggery had been summoned. After the raven had reported that all was quiet on the western front, he asked leave to go back home. "I fear, Great Lord, that my wizard may have gotten into trouble without me there."

"Such is the nature of wizards, Skullduggery," laughed Thunderbird. "Hurry home, my feathered brother, and may the winds blow fair at your back."

Thunderbird graciously opened a portal to Britain near Hogwarts, and Skull flew through it, emerging in the Forbidden Forest.

The raven perched upon a branch, trying to get his bearings, because travel by portal was disorientating. There was an odd feel to the forest, Skull observed. As if it was waiting for someone or something. The raven cocked his head, listening. For a moment, he thought he had heard someone calling him. It had been faint, but familiar.

_Help! Skullduggery! I can't find my way out!_

The raven froze. The voice had been Harry's.

"Harry?" he croaked loudly. "Where are you?" His beady eyes searched the forest floor and the trees but saw no sigh of Harry anywhere. "Harry!"

Harry heard Skullduggery's voice very clearly, but he could not see the raven through the mist. _Skull! Skull, I'm over here!_ he cried, waving his arms frantically.

"Harry! Where exactly are you?" Skull cawed, flying off the branch and circling.

_I'm . . . I don't know where I am, Skull. I'm lost! I'm in some kind of mist, it's all around me. And there's a gray road . . ._

"Great Cerridwen! You . . . you're inbetween worlds!" Skullduggery squawked. Then he began to follow Harry's voice, until he reached a strange rippling barrier of silvery light. When he stared hard, he could see a faint silvery cord and then Harry's flickering spirit form. "I see you, _bran-boy!_ Wait there! I'm coming!"

The raven gave a sharp call and transported himself into the Place Between Worlds, which all Greater Tower ravens could see into and cross over to. His wings spread, he arrived in the spirit world with a soft swoosh of displaced air.

_Skull! Is it really you?_ Harry cried. He was very close to tears at seeing the black bird again.

_Hello, bran-boy!_ Greeted the raven. _What on earth are you doing here? When did you learn to Travel?_

_It's a long story. Can we get out of here, please?_

_Yes, of course. Come here and grab hold of me, Harry._

_But Skull, I'll hurt you!_

_No, you won't. Your spirit form is trapped here, Harry. In order to leave you must ride me. I can take you from this place back to earth, but you have to grasp me tightly._

Harry tentatively put his hands upon the raven's wings, moving slowly to Skull's shoulderblades. His hands went through the bird but oddly enough Harry discovered he could grasp Skullduggery with little effort and he hung suspended over the raven. _I did it!_

_I know! Now, let's get out of here. There are things in The Place Between Worlds that would love to eat you for a snack._ Skull spread his wings and shot forward, concentrating hard.

In the next instant, Harry's spirit and Skullduggery emerged into the forest, leaving an angry Spirit Devourer wailing in frustration behind them.

_Skull, we have to get to Uncle Severus!_ Harry told him. _Can you fly me to him?_

"Of course! But tell me as we fly, how did this happen? I thought you had detention with McGonagall."

Harry told Skull everything that had happened as quickly as he could. Once the raven had heard what an insane tyrant Marlene was, he longed to rip out her eyes and swallow them whole. "She'll get hers, _bran-boy._ Or Severus isn't Head of Slytherin. Hold tight to me, Harry! I'm going to fly as fast as I can."

Harry gripped the raven with his spectral fingers, concentrating on remaining with the bird. Skullduggery shot off from the branch he'd been on.

The wind blew through Harry's spirit form as Skull travelled, flying like a dervish through the trees. Never had the raven moved so fast, not even as Thunderbird's spy. The trees blurred about them and in Skull's wake was a chill breeze. Harry felt himself swept along on the tail end of a mild hurricane and he gripped the raven hard.

Skull swooped and dove, avoiding any large branches and twisted trunks. The raven glided and looped, graceful as a leaf upon the wind. Skullduggery did not say so, but this was the first time a raven had allowed a wizard spirit to "ride" him, most ravens who flew between worlds only escorted the souls on the Gray Road.

The raven flew harder . . .until he spotted a familiar figure in a black cloak walking through the trees accompanied by a smaller witch in green robes wearing a tartan scarf.

"Sev! I'm ba-a-ack!" Skull warbled, circling his wizard.

"Skullduggery!" Severus cried, smiling when he saw the cheeky raven. He had missed the bird something awful. "Thank Merlin, you've finally come home." The Potions Master said, relief evident in his tone. "Harry's gone missing and there's a barrier up that I can't break."

"Harry's not missing, Sev. He's using me as transportation. He's right here above me."

"He's _what_?" Severus sputtered. "Bird, have you lost your mind?"

"Nope. Harry's spirit self is here, and he's learned how to Travel using the Codex Magicka. He's riding me like a horse and can show you the way to where he's being held captive. Says she's a crazy idiot who thinks she's his godmother. Calls herself Marlene McKinnon. Also the Fifth Marauder."

Severus froze. "Marlene McKinnon? Are you sure, Skull?" So the former initiate had betrayed the Society and stolen away not only the book, but his precious ward. Severus' eyes burned with hellish fury. He would teach the twisted Gryffindor the meaning of justice, because nobody kidnapped a child on his watch and got away with it, much less his ward.

"Yes! I'm not deaf! Come on, Sev, move your ass! You too, Puss-In-Boots!" the raven called over to McGonagall. "Is this all the cavalry you've brought, Sev? How about Dumbles?"

"He can't make it. He says he must stay close to the castle and says he will do what he can to help the barrier be removed." Severus replied. "Fly, Skullduggery!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Snape! Warp speed!"

The raven turned and began flying at top speed, like a black blur above their heads, Harry clinging tightly to him.

"Skull, is Harry all right?" Severus called, running hard after the shadowy shape.

"He says he's as well as can be expected."

Severus wanted to weep with relief, but he did not. He needed to be strong, he had to try and bring down the barrier and rescue his ward. He couldn't do any of that if he were a sodden lump of salt water.

McGonagall dabbed her eyes, filled with relief that Harry was unharmed at least. She was amazed at what the young sorcerer had managed to do. She also felt terribly guilty about this whole thing. "Skull, can you please tell Harry I'm very sorry for . . . for giving him detention in the forest. It's mostly my fault he was kidnapped, I sent him outside of the castle. It's something I deeply regret."

Skullduggery gave a soft caw of affirmation then trilled, "Miss Kitty, Harry says he forgives you. That you couldn't have known Mad Marlene was there, waiting to pounce. All he wants now is to go home."

The raven zipped about some closely entwined trees, his wings gliding effortlessly.

"And he shall go home, Skull. That much I can promise," said the witch determinedly. "I'll duel that crazy girl into the ground!"

"No. I'm first," Severus stated, his voice icy cold with menace. He was panting slightly, he hadn't run this fast or this far since he had finished school. He would make Marlene pay if it was the last thing he did.

Finally, Skull pulled up in front of the barrier and hovered. "Go to it, Sev! Knock it down!"

Harry watched, his fingers buried in Skull's feathers, as his guardian and Head of House pointed their wands at the barrier and chanted the same spell. Bolts of blue and green light shot out and struck the barrier. The barrier wavered.

The two professors struck it again. The barrier started to shift and waver.

They lifted their wands a third time and then a purple bolt shot out of nowhere and slammed into the barrier along with Snape's and McGonagall's.

It was too much for the wall to take and it crumbled under the combined assault of three of the most powerful wizards and witch ever to walk Hogwarts.

Skullduggery flew straight on through. He emerged in a sun-drenched meadow and in the distance was a large garden surrounding a manor house with gray peaked roofs. "Harry, go! Get back in your body!" said the raven.

Harry reluctantly released the raven and soared backwards, using the silver cord to pull himself to where his body was. He phased through the roof and into his room.

He froze as he saw Marlene beside his bed, her wand out. What was _she_ doing here? Had she discovered his deception? Why was she about to cast a spell on him?

Then he heard he cry, "Ennervate! Harry, wake up!" For an instant, hearing the sudden concern in her tone, Harry could almost believe she cared about him. Almost.

Harry slowly let his spirit drift back into his body. But he didn't open his eyes. Not yet.

Marlene groaned. "Bloody hell, boy! Why won't you wake up? What's wrong with you? Must I take you to St. Mungos?" Abruptly she cried out and clutched her head. "Someone has breached the wards! Stay here!"

Harry waited until her footsteps receded before opening his eyes and standing up. His wand in hand, he put on his sneakers and raced down the hall. He had to get the book.

Marlene was standing in the hall facing the front entrance, chanting loudly.

Harry cast a glance at her as a bang shook the house and Marlene moaned as something powerful shredded the wards over her home. Then Harry turned and snatched the book from the podium. "You'll protect me, right?"

_Against the wicked witch? With pleasure!_

Harry wrapped his arms about the book, holding it against his chest like a shield. The Codex began to glow with a brilliant emerald light.

Marlene's front door exploded, blowing the blond witch backwards and off her feet.

Before she could recover, two tall forms stepped out of the swirling dust and debris.

Harry's eyes widened and he yelled in delight, "Uncle Severus!"

"Snape!" hissed Marlene, regaining her feet all at once, her wand trained upon the black-cloaked figure. "How _dare_ you invade my home?"

"How _dare_ you kidnap my child, McKinnon!" Severus growled, his eyes blazing.

"_Your_ child, Snape?" Marlene sneered. "He is no more yours than I am a Death Eater. _I'm_ his godmother, Snape!"

"You lie. Your name was never mentioned in the will. Only Black's was," Severus stated.

Marlene's face twisted into a grimace of utter hatred. "You know nothing, Snape. Lily always meant to name me second godmother, but then she was murdered by your dark master! But I've always known Harry was my responsibility. Not yours, you evil piece of—"

"For shame, Marlene!" scolded McGonagall. "If you were, as you say, Harry's godmother, than why not come forward all those years ago?"

"I was busy, Minerva! Trying to hunt down the murderers of my parents and brother. Where were _you_ when I needed you? My family was destroyed and you sat hobnobbing with _him_, a former Death Eater!" Marlene raged.

"Severus maybe Slytherin to the core, but that does not make him evil," Minerva began.

"You're a fool!" she cried, then she trained her wand on Minerva, casting a Freezing hex on her. Minerva smoothly countered.

Skull flew inside and landed atop Harry's shoulder. "Long time, no see, _bran_-boy!" he said, gently nibbling his hair. Then the raven spied the Codex. "Morrigan's hairy butt! It's the Codex Magicka!"

"Marlene stole it," Harry informed the raven, all the while gazing at the duel taking place with awe.

Marlene snapped out a Burning Hex, but Severus stepped in and countered it with an Extinguishing Charm. Then he stepped forward and growled in a horrible tone, "You want to play with fire, McKinnon? Catch!" He spun his wand counterclockwise and five fiery projectiles spat out of his wand.

She tried to move to step away, but the fire balls tracked her and singed her robe and her hair as well as the arm she had up in front of her face. She screamed as her flesh withered in the heat. But then she cast some sort of charm and her arm healed. She sent a Blasting Curse back at him.

"_Confringo_!"

"_Protego_!"

"_Expelliarmus_!" she shrieked.

"_Reflectivo_!" Severus reflected her own hex back on her.

Her wand was blasted out of her hand. It fell behind her. As she turned to grab it, she saw Harry standing there holding the Codex with Skull on his shoulder.

"Harry James, what are you doing?" she snarled. "Put that book down!"

Harry glared at her. "Make me."

Marlene pointed a finger at him. It began to glow.

Skullduggery flew at her, his razor sharp beak and talons at the ready. "Come on, bitch! Make my day!"

His talons and beak scored several deep scratches down her neck and face, and she shrieked and hit him with a Wind Gust spell, sending the raven spinning into a wall.

"No!" Harry wailed. He pointed his wand at Marlene and shouted the Bone Break Curse Draco had cast upon him at the beginning of the year.

There came a loud cracking sound and then her wand arm broke. The Fifth Marauder screamed. "You little bastard! After I try and save you, this is how you repay me?"

Harry met her eyes steadily. "I never needed saving from Severus, Marlene. Only from you, the world's worst godmother."

Minerva came and cast a Rope Binding hex on her. "There! Now, are you going to come quietly, McKinnon?" She plucked the woman's wand from the ground.

But when Minerva looked up again, she found Severus holding the tip of his wand to the Fifth Marauder's throat. "Severus . . ." the Transfiguration professor began. "Don't . . ."

"Don't what?" he rasped, his eyes dark with a killing rage. "Don't kill her for almost trying to kill Harry? Give me one good reason why not."

Harry went, still holding the book, to kneel where the raven was lying. His fingers found a pulse and he began to breathe again. Then he looked up and saw Severus holding a wand at Marlene with a fearsome expression upon his face.

**A/N: Okay, I've ended it there for a reason. I haven't been able to decide if Severus should 1) Kill her, 2) Bring her back for a trial and give her Azkaban for life in a cell next to Sirius' or 3) Bring her back for a trial and have her Kissed. **

**I'd appreciate your input. **

**Please forgive any errors, as I am very depressed today and probably haven't edited this as I should have. My mom has just been hospitalized again. **


	30. Crime and Punishment

**30**

**Crime and Punishment**

Harry couldn't believe how menacing and scary Severus looked. He had never seen that terrible hatred upon the elder wizard's face before. Of course, Severus had a right to hate Marlene—not only was she crazy with jealousy and prejudiced towards Slytherins, she had dared to hurt Skull and also Harry, the two Severus loved best. Harry could understand that, but at the same time he didn't want Severus to get in trouble for striking down an adversary in cold blood. So when he heard Severus ask McGonagall to give him one good reason not to kill Marlene, he spoke up. "Because she's not worth going to jail over, Uncle Severus. She's totally cracked and all and she does deserve to be punished for what she did, but you shouldn't kill her . . . not like this." He shot Severus a half-pleading glance from his green eyes. He set the Codex down beside the stunned raven and gently felt him over for broken bones. As far as he could tell, nothing was broken.

"He's right, Sev." Skullduggery suddenly interrupted, sitting up and shaking himself. "She's two sandwiches short of a picnic and I really don't like her, but you ought not to dirty your hands with her. Let the Ministry, or better yet, the Society, deal with her. Her crimes were against them as well as Harry. Let her be judged by a jury of her peers."

Severus was silent, mulling it over while giving the bitch time to squirm, since his face was still wearing its dreadful glare. He knew that Harry and Skull were correct in telling him not to commit murder. But his rage was very close to the surface and it longed to be unleashed upon the witch who had targeted Harry for humiliation and abuse. Not to mention had also harmed Irma and Skull and stolen a rare magical book from the Society of Ravens. Yes, Marlene was guilty of many things, especially kidnapping Harry and holding him prisoner. That alone was worth a number of curses.

But seeing Harry standing there, looking unharmed, his huge green eyes gazing innocently into Snape's own, cooled some of the fires of revenge. The boy was all right, and Severus didn't wish to tarnish that innocence by making Harry witness an execution, no matter how deserved. Then too, McKinnon was a pureblood, and her death by his hand would cause a scandal, as he was a half-blood former Death Eater.

"Severus, think of Harry," Minerva whispered.

The Potions Master heaved a sharp sigh. "I am." Slowly he lowered his wand. "You walk for now, McKinnon. But the devil shall have his due, woman. I'm bringing you back to face a trial. And if the fates are kind, you will be put away for life or face a Dementor or the judgment of the Society." He bared his teeth in a cold malicious smile.

Marlene tried to meet his gaze, but failed.

"Well done, Sev!" the raven croaked, perching on Harry's arm.

"Skullduggery, are you all right?" Severus asked, concerned.

The raven fluffed his feathers. "Just a small knock on the head. I'll be fine in a day or two."

Severus breathed again. Losing Skull was unthinkable. He turned to Harry, "Are you all right?"

In answer, Harry walked over to his guardian and hugged him hard. He buried his face in Snape's robes and just breathed in the scent of the other man. "I am now. You came for me."

Severus wrapped his arms about the small boy and hugged him tight. "I will always come for you, Harry." One hand gently stroked his hair. He found that he was very close to tears, so great was his relief that Harry was found at last. He had to blink several times to keep the threatened tears at bay, for he refused to cry in front of McKinnon.

He felt Skull settle on his shoulder and start preening his hair. Then he heard the insolent raven squawk, "What you lookin' at, bitch?"

Severus raised his head and saw McKinnon staring at him, and the look in her eyes could have slain a dragon. Severus smiled coolly. Clearly she was not enjoying the reunion with his ward. That pleased Severus to no end. He felt Harry shudder against him and knew the boy was crying silently. Automatically, he moved a hand to the boy's back and rubbed small circles. "There now, bran-boy," he murmured. "You're safe now, she can't hurt you."

Harry wasn't sure why he was crying all of a sudden. Perhaps it was from relief, because he was incredibly grateful that Severus was here. His guardian always made him feel so safe. Safe and wanted and most of all loved. Sniffling sharply, he kept his face hidden in the soft black robes, and listened to the comforting sound of Snape's heart beating. The nightmare of his captivity was over and he leaned against his guardian and basked in his presence. It felt so very good to have someone to hug, to chase away the shadow of fear.

Marlene watched and ground her teeth in rage. She felt betrayed by the young wizard. How dare that brat cozy up to Snape? After all she had done, Snape got hugs and tears, and she didn't get so much as a glance. In that moment she hated the dark-haired boy more than anything. He was a traitor to his blood and a disgrace to Gryffindor House. She washed her hands of him. His loyalties clearly lay with the House of Serpents. Let him rot with them and be tainted with darkness.

After a few moments, Harry stepped away from Severus and wiped his eyes. He went and picked up the Codex from the floor. "What do we do now?" he asked his teachers.

"We take her to the Auror Department," Minerva answered. "Get up, McKinnon." She tugged on the rope binding the other witch much as she would have a leash.

Marlene snarled, but rose to her feet.

"I wish to take Harry back to the castle first." Severus said. "Can you handle her on your own?"

Minerva snorted. "I'm not in my dotage yet, Severus! She canna do anything to me all tied up." An instant later, they were gone in a flicker of blue light.

"Come, Harry. It's time to go home." Severus put an arm about his ward and Apparated to Hogsmeade and from there they Flooed back to his quarters.

As they emerged from the fireplace, Skullduggery took wing off of Snape's shoulder and shook himself vigorously. "Rrrawk! Next time I'll use my own wings, Sev. Less chance of being choked to death by a cloud of soot." He began preening his feathers, cleaning them of soot.

Severus cast a cleaning charm on himself and Harry, then said, "Forgive me, Skull. I should have warned you beforehand, so you could fly back on your own."

The raven made a non-commital noise and continued grooming.

Harry made his way over to the couch, still holding the Codex Magicka. The book was silent in his grasp now, and he wondered if it knew it was no longer in Marlene's house. As he sat down with the book in his lap, Severus asked, "How did you know to take the book with you? That's a rare ancient spellbook known as the Codex Magicka. It contains much old magic and it could have done great harm in that woman's hands."

"It wanted me to take it with me," Harry explained.

"What do you mean it _wanted_ you to?"

"It spoke to me . . . in my mind," Harry told him. "It said it was a repository for ancient magic and it didn't want Marlene to keep using it. It taught me how to project myself out of my body so I could get help, but first it made me promise to take it with me when I left."

"How precisely, did it teach you?"

"It copied pages of itself with instructions on how to project myself astrally. I destroyed them though, so Marlene wouldn't find out."

"I see. I never knew the Codex was sentient."

"What's that mean?"

"It means to be conscious or self-aware. The Society never spoke of the Codex as a sentient book. But perhaps they did not know, if no one had used it in a long time," Severus mused. "Or perhaps it only speaks to those it finds worthy or in need."

"Yeah. It sure didn't like Marlene. Then again, who would? It got real mad after she . . . err . . . whacked me with a ruler for touching it the first time."

"She did _what_?" Severus exclaimed, his voice sharp with anger. "When did that happen?"

"Uh, a day or two ago. She said she punished me like that because I disobeyed her, but she never told me I couldn't touch the book." Harry said.

Severus' face was dark with anger. "Where did she hit you?"

"My hands, a few times. And also my bum. It really hurt at first, but then she gave me a potion for the pain and it's not so bad now." Harry admitted, coloring slightly.

"Show me your hands, please."

Harry flipped up the palms of his hands and Severus saw the faint white lines on them. He swore under his breath.

"I'm assuming your backside is the same?" his guardian said.

"Uh . . . I guess so."

"Would you mind if I looked at it? Just to make sure there aren't any bleeding welts there? You wouldn't want to get an infection."

Harry blushed a sunset rose and slowly nodded. He turned around and unbuttoned his jeans.

Severus gently lowered jeans and underpants. Nothing was bleeding, but there were white lines across Harry's bum. "That bitch!" he swore. "I'm going to have her up for abuse of a child besides the other crimes she stands accused of." He replaced Harry's clothing. He was fairly shaking with rage, because those marks reminded him of his own horrible childhood. That Marlene had done such a thing to Harry made him want to horsewhip her to pieces. How _dare_ she lay a hand on the boy?

"I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner," he said regretfully. "Then I might have prevented that."

"It's not your fault, Uncle Severus. She was using the Codex Magicka to hide herself and her house, I'll bet."

"You are probably right," Severus agreed. But that still didn't make him feel better. He felt guilty that he hadn't been there to protect Harry. He looked down at the Codex, the book that had saved Harry, and thought that at least he had one ally in that madwoman's prison house. "I believe I should return this to Irma, as she is the one who was originally in charge of it. The one thing we couldn't figure out was how Marlene found it."

"I think she summoned a creature to find it. She told me she learned how to call it from a book of dark magic. I think it was called . . . a revenant."

Severus looked alarmed at the name. "She must be insane! Revenants are extremely hard to control and if they slip your control they are like death unleashed."

"She said she used it to get revenge on people who were mean to her," Harry said, scowling. "I think she sent it to hurt Madam Pince. Either that or she followed it and knocked her out. I think she knocked me out too, now that I think about it."

"I wouldn't put anything past her." Severus said darkly. "Here. I found your amulet on the ground. Put it on, I've mended the chain." He gave Harry his amulet back.

Harry took it and put it on. He felt much better with it on. "I was afraid I'd lost it. I hid my watch from her," he pulled out the pocket watch and opened it, smiling at his mum waving.

"That was good thinking. And now, I must go and give this back to Irma. She's the archivist of the Society and the book should be back in her possession." Severus picked up the book. "I shall be back soon. Why don't you take a rest while I'm gone? Then we can have dinner."

"Here? Or in the hall?"

"I think it best if we eat in the hall tonight. Everyone in the school will want to see you, they were quite worried about you. Some of my fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors volunteered to search for you in the forest with me. It was how I discovered the barrier surrounding her estate." Severus said. "We can talk more about it later. Skull will keep you company." Then he left the room, his black cloak swirling.

Harry just sat on the couch, amazed that Slytherins and Gryffindors had actually gotten together and searched for him. That must have been the first time in years that both Houses had cooperated like that. And he was the cause of it. He had to admit, it felt strange that such a thing had come about because of him, he hadn't thought any other Slytherins except Draco and Blaise cared about him. He would have to ask how that had come about when he saw Draco at supper. Or Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

He yawned, for he was quite tired after the day he'd had, and then he curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Irma was delighted to have Severus return the Codex Magicka to her. Both she and Lena were also relieved that Harry had been rescued, and furious that Marlene was the one who had stolen the Codex, attacked Irma, and kidnapped Harry.

"She shall face the judgment of the Ravenmistress for this," Irma vowed. "As well as the members of the Society. Her crimes are heinous in the extreme, and not just because she stole a valuable magical text, but because she brought harm to me and worse, to a child. Ten times worse that it was Harry Potter."

Lena's eyes flashed. "I'll vote that she's either executed or turned into an insect for the rest of her life, which could be very short if a bird or snake spies her."

"There is one other thing you should know. The Codex is sentient. It spoke to Harry and instructed him on how to use his gift of astral projection and also to beg him to remove it from that hag's home."

Irma's jaw dropped. "The book . . . is conscious? Great Cerridwen! I wonder how it became so? Could it be that after so many centuries with the ancient magic at its command, it absorbed some of the personas of the wizards who used it?"

"That's fascinating!" Lena said. "Did Harry say how it communicated?"

"He said he heard a voice in his mind. So I'd say it was some sort of mind magic."

"Probably a form of mindspeaking," Lena observed. "That's a type of telepathy. Did Harry say if you had to be touching the book?"

"He told me the first time it spoke to him, he was touching it. But other times he heard it without touching it."

"Will it speak to me?" the young librarian wondered.

"I don't know. It hasn't said a word to me," Severus mused.

"I've never heard it speak either," Irma muttered. "Perhaps it only speaks in a time of great need." She lovingly caressed the book.

"Where is Marlene now?" growled Lena. "I think I might pay her a visit."

"She is residing in a cell the Ministry, Minerva brought her there . We intend to have a trial."

Irma snorted. "I have no faith in Ministry justice. I have seen too many purebloods walk away without convictions because they have family connections. And the McKinnons are practically considered saints because of how they died. I would be very surprised if they did any more than slap her on the wrist."

"Aunt Irma, surely not!" Lena protested. "She is evil as any Death Eater! Not only did she steal a magical book whose worth is far more than the paper it's written on, she also deliberately injured you, and kidnapped the Boy Who Lived! And then she hurt him as well, and almost killed him. What sort of family connections could she have to overturn a conviction like that? They're all dead, I think, plus she's mental."

"You'd be surprised, Lena dear, just how much leeway a pureblood, especially one from an Old Family, has. Unless the jury is scrupulously honorable, McKinnon could get off."

Severus growled, "If that happens, I shall be waiting to duel her and take strips off her hide for what she did to my ward."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her on the spot," Irma said.

"I was going to, but then Minerva and Harry stopped me. Harry told me he didn't need a father who went to jail. And since she was already disarmed and bound, I couldn't kill her without it looking like murder." Severus admitted. "They were right, but that doesn't stop me from wishing they weren't."

"Give me five minutes with her and she'll wish she was in Azkaban," Lena declared, her eyes blazing with ferocity.

Severus smiled icily. "My thoughts exactly. Give my regards to the Ravenmistress. Whatever happens next, I am hoping there will be justice done. For if not I shall provide it myself, and the hell with the consequences. Forgive me, we can discuss more of this later, but I must get back to Harry. I shall see you tonight at dinner."

He left the two librarians alone with the precious Codex, and thought grimly that he might even feel sorry a bit for Marlene, dealing with two ferociously protective and furious Society members, were not Marlene such a terrible person. As it was, he wished McKinnon all the misery anyone could dish out.

Arriving back at his quarters, he gently drew a blanket over Harry then went to take a nap in his recliner until dinner. And only then, in the privacy of his own sanctuary, did Severus finally weep over his son, who had suffered at the hands of a madwoman, but now was home at last.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

When Harry walked into the Great Hall that night, following behind the Potions Master, a hush descended over the hall as all the students stared at him as if he were an apparition come back from the dead. Then they were all on their feet, clapping. Harry met the eyes of his friends. Ron and Neville looked totally shocked. Hermione was crying. Draco's eyes were bulging. Blaise was looking at him, shellshocked. Even the professors, all save Minerva, were agape at his return.

The hubbub ceased only when Dumbledore stood and asked for silence, then said, "Let us all welcome back Harry Potter!"

Harry found himself blushing, for he never enjoyed having all eyes on him, and for a moment he considered turning tail and running all the way back to the dungeons. Until Severus squeezed his shoulder and whispered, "Chin up, Harry. Most of them never expected to see you alive again, they were sure some creature had torn you to shreds. So let them have their ten minutes of awe and then go take your seat."

Harry watched as Severus strode up to the staff table, where he would no doubt be bombarded with questions. He almost wished he could follow. Then he turned to sit in his old seat, next to Ron, and across from Neville and Hermione. He could feel eyes on him, and as he started to sit down, waved at Draco across the way.

"Harry, you're back!" Ron cried. "How did you do it?"

"I'm so glad you came home," Hermione said sweetly, brushing her hair back.

"Me too," Neville said, smiling.

Oliver and the Quidditch team set up a cheer. Percy said, "Glad to have you back, Potter."

Harry felt all warm and cozy, and he shyly thanked everyone for their concern. "I had help, Ron. Skullduggery helped me and so did Professor Snape."

"Three cheers for the raven!" Yelled the Weasley twins.

Draco sent over a memo, a piece of parchment folded like a paper airplane. When Harry opened it, it read, _Glad you finally came back and are all right. Meet me at the Slytherin portrait hole at seven tonight, I have a surprise for you. Draco_

Up at the staff table, Skull tap-danced his way across the table, singing, "He's back! He's back! He's really really back!" to the tune of "He's Bad" by Michael Jackson. At the end of the performance, all of the teachers applauded and Skull bowed.

Severus leaned close to McGonagall, and asked softly, "How went the witch's incarceration?"

"I went straight to the Head of the Department, Amelia Bones. Once I explained the situation, she was livid. She refused to listen to any of McKinnon's accusations and stuck her straight in a cell. There should be a hearing scheduled very soon, in no more than three days. They wish you and Harry to give testimony at her trial."

Severus nodded. "I would rather Harry were not involved, but his is key testimony, so I shall allow it. But just this once. I don't want him having to repeat his story more than once." He rolled his eyes at his familiar's antics. "Bird, you should have been on Broadway."

"Broadway? Where is that?" asked Minerva.

"It's a Muggle theater," Severus explained. Then he turned to answer some questions from Albus, Pomona, and the rest of the staff about rescuing Harry.

For dinner that night, roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and broccoli was served. It was one of Harry's favorites and he ate until he was stuffed. The sweet was apple pie or strawberry tarts, and he also ate that.

Afterwards, he accompanied his friends back to Gryffindor Tower, where they all threw him an impromptu celebration. Fred and George passed out wizard crackers, and there was Honeydukes chocolate, butterbeer, and other fizzy drinks. Harry found a corner and discussed a few details of his captivity with Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

"I'm sorry I ran away that night, mate." Ron apologized.

"Me too," Neville added, looking ashamed.

Harry astonished and said, "It wasn't your fault. I would have run too, if someone hadn't conked me over the head."

"Someone knocked you out?" Hermione gasped.

"Yeah. My so-called godmother, Marlene McKinnon," Harry snorted. "She claimed all she wanted was to keep me safe from Death Eaters and Slytherins, but she was barmy. Thank goodness Skull and Professor Snape found me." Harry had already decided not to mention the fact that he could Travel astrally. The ability was too new to him and he didn't want people thinking he was more special than they already did.

"You know, Oliver and Percy and a few other Gryffindor girls helped Professor Snape and his Slytherins search for you," Ron told his friend.

"I know. Uncle Sev told me," Harry said. "How'd that happen?"

"The next afternoon, Oliver was down at the pitch, and Tarrent, he's the snakes Beater, came up and asked Oliver how come he wasn't out there looking for you, and Craven the ass said something smart and Tarrent kicked hi skinny arse. Then he said that he and some Slytherins organized a search party called Operation Potter Search and invited Wood and whoever else to join it. So they did."

"The professor only let fifth years join, otherwise we would have been in it," Neville said.

"I'm glad you're safe, Harry." Hermione said sincerely. "Now tell us more about the magic book."

Harry smiled, trust Hermione to ask about the Codex. As he began to speak, Ron beckoned over Fred and George to listen.

Once he had told the story of the book, he excused himself, saying he had to go down to the dungeons. It was almost seven.

Draco was at the portrait hole. "Thought you'd never get here," said the blond boy.

"I just had to answer ten million questions," Harry said. "So . . .what's the surprise?"

"Come with me." Draco spoke the password to the portrait hole and it slid aside. Harry followed.

"Draco, why are we going into your common room?"

"Because that's where the welcome back Potter party is," Draco announced.

Sure enough, there was a large sign, decorated red, green, and silver with the words _Welcome Back, Harry!_ And beneath it, said _honorary Slytherin._

There was a large table with food—sandwiches, crisps, all sorts of dessert, including chocolate cake.

Harry gaped. He hadn't been surprised when his own House welcomed him, but Slytherin . .?

Flint and Tarrent spotted him first and made their way over. "Come on in! Now we can get the party started," Flint said, clapping Harry on the back.

Harry almost fell over. "This . . . it's . . . great. But why?"

It was Tarrent who answered. "Because you're a snake too now. And family sticks together. When the professor adopted you, you became family by default. Simple, right?"

It was . . . and yet it wasn't. Led by Draco, Harry walked through the room. He knew he should be surprised at the welcome he received, but he had learned after dealing with the professor that the Slytherins, far from being the cool haughty aristocrats only out for themselves, actually were warm and welcoming to those they felt were deserving of it. Especially those who they considered family.

Harry stopped when he came to a silver plaque upon the wall. On it was written Slytherin House Rules.

_1. _Your House is your family. Respect and treat them as such.

_2. _Slytherins stick together, no arguing in public.

_3. _Your Head of House stands in place of your parents, he is to be obeyed as such.

_4. _All House meetings are mandatory, unless one is critically ill

_5. _House Prefects are to be respected and may give extra chores as needed to a misbehaving member.

_6. _The common room does not belong to you, your mother or house elf does not live here, keep it clean and neat!

_7. _Your dorm room is YOUR responsibility, keep it clean, monthly inspection will be given without notice.

_8. _You will treat all Hogwarts staff, including house elves and Mr. Filch, with respect.

_9. _Mandatory study periods for all years will be posted in the common room. Be quiet and respectful of others.

_10. _Any problems with homework or classes, see my office schedule for an appointment.

_11. _Bedtimes are to be strictly observed: 9:30PM-1st -2nd years, 10PM 3rd-4th years, 11PM 5th-6th years, 12-1AM 7th years-Prefects patrolling halls.

_12. _Anyone with allergies or another medical problem must report it to me, and I shall dispense any needed potions.

_13. _If you become seriously ill and miss class, a make-up pass shall be given. Missing class for any other reason will result in detention.

_14. _Absolutely NO dueling or using of dark curses is allowed, at any time, for any reason, upon anyone. Failure to obey this rule may result in being expelled.

_15. _Any of the above rules are non-negotiable. The punishment for breaking them shall be detention with me for an unspecified amount of nights, to be determined by me.

_16. _Welcome to the family! Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin.

_Professor Severus Snape_

"What are you reading, Potter?" Tarrent asked, coming up behind him. "Oh. Now that you're an honorary Slytherin, you need to follow our rules. But then, I'll bet Snape makes you do that anyway."

Harry nodded. "He does." He wondered why McGonagall did not post rules like this. It made sense rather than relying on the prefects to tell the first years how to behave. Or the consequences when they misbehaved. Actually, McGonagall seemed to take it for granted that her lions behaved, which Harry knew was not so. Look at the trouble Neville, Ron, Hermione, and he had gotten into with Viviane. "Umm . . . Mark, right?"

"That's me. I heard how you tricked that crazy lady who kidnapped you. You were clever and cunning, like a real snake," the older boy said in approval.

"Her name was Marlene McKinnon, supposedly she was a friend of my mum's in school, and she thought she could be my godmother, even though she was never named it. She . . . she was insane, she wanted me to refuse the guardianship and called Uncle Severus an evil wizard. She really hated him, and all Slytherins. She wanted me to live with her . . . ugh! I was never so glad until Skull came and found me."

"Skull's the best familiar that ever lived," Mark said, grinning. "And everybody knows if a raven chooses you, there's no way you can be evil. Ravens guard against dark magic, they don't embrace it. She must have been two bricks shy of a load."

"More than that. I'm glad she's in jail now."

"I heard the professor and old KittyCat McGonagall kicked her ass all over. I wonder when her trial is?"

"I don't know. But I hope it's soon." Harry said fervently.

"Potter, come over here and try this bacon and tomato sandwich," Draco called. "It's excellent. And so's the roast beef and cheese."

Harry, who was feeling rather hungry, walked over to the refreshment table. He took a plate and put on it a small sandwich of bacon and tomato on toast, took a ham and cheese on brown bread, and some chocolate cake. There was butterbeer and lemonade. Harry took some lemonade and then Draco led him to a black recliner and pulled up a small snack table so Harry could put his food on it and eat.

"Today you get the royal treatment, Harry," Draco chuckled. "Tomorrow you get your own food." He popped the second of the bacon and tomato sandwiches into his mouth. Then he drank a bottle of fizzy orange drink.

Blaise and Mark came to sit with them, and they discussed Quidditch and their favorite teams and players and various other aspects of magic. Harry was enjoying himself very much, and before he knew it two hours had gone by.

It was then that Severus entered the common room and said that all the first years, including Harry, had to start getting ready for bed. There were good natured groans and Harry sighed rolling his eyes.

Mark noticed and smirked. "Better go and do what he wants, kid. Otherwise he'll get ticked and you don't want to get in trouble your first day back."

Harry knew the Slytherin was right. So he rose and came to stand beside his guardian, a rather mulish expression on his face.

Severus looked down at him and said, "Why the long face, Harry? Didn't you like your surprise?"

Harry looked startled. "You mean . . . you knew about this?" He waved a hand at the food and drink.

"Of course. They needed my permission to turn the common room into the Great Hall for a few hours. Now why are you frowning?"

"Because you're making me go to bed."

"Along with Draco, Blaise, and any other first year of my House. Sleep is important Harry, especially for growing boys. You may not think it, but you need more sleep."

"But I took a nap before dinner," Harry objected.

"After what you have been through, you need a good night's rest as well," Severus insisted. "Now, no more arguing. You may sleep in your room or in Gryffindor Tower as you choose." Placing an arm about his ward, Severus led Harry out of the portrait hole. "Another thing. I have received an owl from the Ministry, regarding McKinnon's trial. They wish you to be a witness and to tell them what happened to you. Would you be willing to testify in front of a judge? Or barristers?"

"Yes. I want people to know what kind of an evil bitch she is!" Harry said.

"Watch your mouth," warned Severus. "I don't blame you though. That's another reason you need sleep, because we shall be leaving early, and you need to be prepared. Now then, the only question that remains is—where are you sleeping?"

"Uh . . . I think I ought to stay with you. Since I have to get up early, I'd rather wake up down here."

"Good. No more pouting." Severus ordered. "Did you have a good time at the party?"

"Yes. That's one reason why I didn't want to leave."

"You'll have other chances to talk with them," Severus told him. "For now though, you need to get ready for bed."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Slavedriver."

Severus frowned at him as they entered his quarters. "Don't be impudent, Mr. Potter. Now get, before I treat you like the five-year-old you're acting like, and make you stand in the corner." He gave Harry a mild spank to get him moving.

Harry went. He had learned, mostly by observing Skullduggery, just how far he could push the Potions Master without making him totally lose it. Once he had showered and gotten into pajamas, he came out to find Severus drinking coffee and reading a periodical in his recliner, with Skull perched on the back.

"All ready for the fireworks tomorrow, bran-boy?" Skull crooned.

"You mean when we put Mad Marlene away for good?" Harry asked, smirking.

"Right on, Harry," Skull warbled.

"Do you think she'll get life, or is there a death penalty?"

"There are both," Severus interjected. "Depending on the jury's ruling, she could rot in Azkaban or get the Dementor's Kiss."

"Where they suck out your soul!" Skull hissed.

"Or they could let the Society decide her fate," Severus said. "I know for a fact that the Ravenmistress wishes to get her hands upon McKinnon very badly."

"I just hope she gets what's coming to her," Harry said. Then he came and hugged his guardian. "Night, Uncle Sev. Sorry I behaved like a brat before."

Severus' arms came about his ward and retuned the hug. "Good night, Harry. You're forgiven, I don't expect you to be perfect, all boys are brats one time or another. Pleasant dreams, little raven."

Harry went to bed with a slight smile on his face. Normally he disliked pet names, because the ones people tended to come up with sounded totally stupid. But little raven sounded just right.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Ministry of Magic_

_Auror Headquarters:_

"We have a jury of ten standing ready to try Marlene McKinnon for crimes against Harry Potter, as well as Irma Pince, librarian, and the stealing of a rare and valuable artifact from Pince." Amelia Bones told them.

Harry had been awakened at the ungodly hour of six thirty and after eating breakfast and dressing in his best robes, he and Severus had taken the Floo to the Ministry of Magic. Before Harry could marvel at all the things inside, Severus hustled him off to Madam Bones' office.

"She also, I believe, murdered Irma's owl," Severus interjected.

Amelia looked disgusted. "She is a disgrace to her Name and House. We can convene the trial immediately."

"Yes, but I want it to be a closed hearing, not open to the public," Severus said firmly. "Harry does not need the rest of the wizarding world listening to his testimony, he has suffered enough without that."

"I can't refuse the press, Severus."

"I'm aware of that. However, you may insist upon their discretion. Otherwise my ward will not testify."

Amelia shook her head. "Very well, Severus. A closed hearing it shall be. Now, are you both ready?"

At their nods, the Head Auror lead them from her office and into a large circular chamber. There were ten witches and wizards already seated there.

Amelia spoke to a tall wizard in Auror robes of red and navy blue, and he herded all the spectators, of which there were over thirty, out of the room. He let a slender witch with glasses and a notepad stay, she was a reporter for _The Daily Prophet_.

Then the doors were shut and Severus escorted Harry over to the right hand side of benches, which was arranged in a semi circle around the podium where Amelia stood. In front of her was a large chair, with chains wrapped about it. Sitting in the chair, dressed in prisoner gray, was Marlene.

"Snape!" she spat his name as if it were a curse.

"Order in the court!" Amelia growled, banging her gavel. "Prisoner will be silent unless spoken to. This court is now in session. Marlene McKinnon vs. Harry Potter and Severus Snape. Prisoner, state your full name and occupation for the record."

"Marlene April McKinnon. I am a bounty hunter, my mission to kill Death Eaters."

"For whom do you work?"

"Myself."

The questioning continued, establishing Marlene's reputation and her guilt in planning both the theft of the Codex Magicka and kidnapping Harry Potter.

"The Wizengamot calls Harry James Potter to the stand."

Harry went up and sat down in a chair facing Marlene.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, upon your wand and your magic?" asked Amelia, who was judge for these proceedings.

"I do swear," Harry replied, laying his hand atop his wand. A wizard who took an oath upon his wand and broke it would cause his wand to snap.

Amelia began questioning him gently, asking him where he had been on the night of his detention and what had happened after he got struck in the back of the head.

Harry told her about waking up in Marlene's house, how at first she was all sweet and nice, but soon showed her true colors when she realized that Harry refused to abandon Severus and defended Slytherins against her narrowminded prejudiced doctrine. He also said she had admitted to sending him nasty letters, including a Plague envelope with Hornet Dust inside, and not shown the least remorse when he told her how she had hurt him.

"When you refused to renounce your loyalty to Severus Snape, how did the prisoner react?"

"She told me if I didn't, I'd regret it. She said Uncle Severus was a Death Eater and that I should hate him."

"Did you see an object called the Codex Magicka in McKinnon's possession?"

"Yes. It was on a large stand in her living room. I didn't know what it was at first, until I touched the pages and it spoke to me." Harry went on to tell about the Codex and how Marlene had beaten him for touching it. "That was when I knew she was cracked, because I didn't even know I shouldn't touch the book, and she insisted I did and disobeyed her."

He also admitted that the book helped him escape by showing him a way to contact Skullduggery, Snape's raven.

Then Amelia dismissed Harry and called Severus to the stand.

She quickly established that Severus was a good guardian and had Harry's best interests in mind. She asked him what had happened on the night Harry went missing and what he had done to search for him. She also asked about Irma and her injury and the death of her familiar. Severus told her about the librarian being in a coma, and burying the owl. He also told her about rescuing Harry.

Amelia dismissed him and returned to questioning Marlene. Since she had been given Veritaserum, she had to speak the truth, and Amelia asked if everything Severus and Harry had said against her was true. She replied bitterly, "Yes! And I would far rather my godson died than be raised by Snape the Scumbag!"

Some of the jurors gasped.

Amelia turned to the jury. "Witches and wizards , you have now heard all the testimony. Would you please retire to the room and make your judgment of Marlene McKinnon?"

The jury filed out. They didn't take very long and returned after ten minutes and whispered the verdict in Amelia's ear. Amelia stood.

"Marlene April McKinnon, it is the judgment of this court that you are guilty of all crimes. You shall be sentenced to life without parole in Azkaban in the psychiatric unit. Case dismissed!"

"Bailiff, take the prisoner away," she ordered.

Marlene was dragged off spitting and cursing and threatening Severus with disembowelment.

Severus then took Harry back home. It was over, or so he thought.

The next morning, the paper was full of Marlene's trial and Harry was quoted as saying he was glad he didn't have to live with someone as cruel as Marlene .

_Azkaban:_

The one thing left in his dreary existence he had to look forward to was the morning paper. Even prisoners got the Prophet, even ones like him. He eagerly took the copy tossed to him by the warden and then opened it. The front page nearly made him pass out. His godson and his old girlfriend had made the front page. As he read, he started to grow very angry. He could not believe what Marlene had done . . . masquerading as Harry's godmother, kidnapping the boy from school grounds and holding him prisoner in her home. He also could not believe who was Harry's current guardian! But based upon the testimony Harry had given, apparently Harry was not being mistreated by the greasy git after all. Not that he liked the fact that his rival was now Harry's guardian, but there was little he could do about it, and if Snape protected Harry from Marlene, all the better.

As he sat and seethed in his cell, he heard footsteps and suddenly he saw two guards and an escort of Demetors marching a prisoner into the cell beside him. "There! Have a nice day!" the guards chuckled. "Looky, Black, we gave ya a new cellmate, ain't she a looker!"

Then they departed.

Marlene was shivering from the chill presence of the Dementors. She moaned and then realized what the guards had said. Could it be true? "Sirius? Is that you, love?"

Sirius stood up and faced her coldly. "It's me. And I'm not your love, Marlene. Not any more."

"But Sirius, I've been trying to get you free all these years! I know you're innocent!" She rushed to the bars and tried to take his hand, weeping.

Sirius drew back. "Don't, McKinnon. Don't expect me to welcome you with open arms. Not after what you did."

"What do you mean? I tried to kill all the Death Eaters for you! I saved your godson Harry from Snivellus Snape! Or tried to. But he brainwashed the boy into a Slytherin pawn . . .!"

"Really? That's not what this says!" He waved the paper at her. "This says you kidnapped Harry and held him prisoner. You tried to alter his memories and make him into your little puppet. You hurt him! How can you call yourself his godmother, the way you treated him?"

"He was a disrespectful brat to me!" Marlene flared. "he refused to see the opportunities I could give him! All he wanted to do was go back to school and be with Snape! He needed discipline and it's my right to provide it!"

"Yeah? Lady, when did Alice die and make you godmother?"

"Lily always meant to make me godmother in case something happened to Alice. I know she was."

"But she never did. And that means you don't have the right to lay a hand on him! And what's all this about how you'd rather see Harry dead than living with Severus Snape?"

"I would! Snape's turning him into a Death Eater!" Marlene shrieked. "He's better off dead!"

"You're insane. No wonder Harry didn't want to stay with you."

Marlene went pale. "I am NOT insane! Everything in that article are lies and exaggerations. I only wanted to protect my godson. And help you get out, Sirius!"

"If that's true, then why were you mistreating him?" Sirius challenged.

"I wasn't! I was trying to discipline him!"

"By beating him? Yeah, you sound just like my mother! She thought that was the way to discipline me. But you know what? It didn't take, any more than it did on Harry. You're a poor excuse for a godmother, Marlene, and I don't blame the kid for running away. You know, I never thought I'd say this, but for once I'm grateful to Snape, for rescuing him and doing what I can't—giving him the chance to grow up with someone who cares."

"What? You're the one who's insane, Sirius Black! After all I did for you, trying to get you released, this is how you repay me? You bloody bastard!" She was practically frothing at the mouth.

Sirius knew that if she could have gone through the bars, she would probably be at his throat. He could almost pity her, for she had been sweet and loving when he'd known her back at school, except for her hardcore hatred of Slytherins. Now she was like a stranger, a fanatic that had become hard and unbending and filled with an unrelenting hatred.

"I may be a bastard, but at least I still have something of a conscience. Where did yours go, McKinnon? What happened to the girl I used to know?"

Marlene glared at him. "She died a swift death when she was attacked one night by Death Eaters and watched her family murdered and then she was left for dead. Here's what rose from the ashes. I would think, you, of all people would understand."

Sirius shook his head. "What should I understand? Revenge? Hatred? Yes, I understand that. But I will never understand how you could hurt an innocent kid, one that you should protect and love. And then justify it by saying you were only trying to discipline him. That's bullshit Marlene. You made a choice to try and make Harry into what you thought he should be. Just like my mother tried to do to me. You never once considered what Harry wanted. And that's what I'm so angry about. You hold yourself up as an example and yet you stole, you attacked an elderly librarian, you terrorized an eleven year old. You are no kind of person to talk about what's proper and what's right."

"And Snape is?"

"I don't know. I used to hate him, to think he was the epitome of a Death Eater. But after reading this, I'm starting to believe he's changed, or maybe he never was as bad as we thought. After all, Lily always loved him as a friend. And no Death Eater would protect the Boy Who Lived."

"You're wrong. I think Snape wants to corrupt him. And he's succeeded."

"Your hatred is blinding you," Sirius said.

"You're pathetic, Sirius!" she spat. "And here I used to think you were the one I wanted to spend my life with. I love you, dammit!"

Sirius felt a shiver crawl up his spine. "Too bad I'm so pathetic then." He turned and walked away, standing at the opposite end of the cell, looking out onto the corridor.

"Sirius! Don't you walk away from me, Black! Sirius!"

Sirius ignored her, and kept staring at the corridor. He wondered how long before she went totally mad. He had remained sane by shifting into his Animagus form of a black dog. Marlene had no such option and she was already half-insane.

He turned and faced his enraged cell mate. "If I were you, McKinnon, I'd stop screaming and take a nap. You won't be getting any sleep tonight when the Dementors come."

_The next day:_

The footsteps sounded again on the block where Sirius' cell was. He was lying in his cell as Padfoot and quickly changed back to his human form. None of the guards knew he was an Animagus and he would never tell them. When they came by, he was sitting on his bunk, looking bored.

"Company again? Wow, is it Christmas?"

The guards ignored him, instead going into Marlene's cell and yanking her up and handcuffing her. "You're coming with us."

"Why? What have I done?" Marlene babbled. "You're not going to . . . Kiss me are you?"

"No. That's too easy for the likes of you," said one guard coldly, showing a pin with a raven in flight on his collar. "The Ravenmistress wants to see you McKinnon. You may have been judged by the Ministry, but we of the Society have a score to settle with you too. And we're calling in your debt."

Marlene went pale. "No! Let go of me! No!" struggling, she tried to pull free. "Sirius, don't let them take me!"

"Stop it, bitch! Don't go crying now, 'cause it won't work. You knew exactly what you were doing when you stole the Codex and hurt the archivist. Not to mention what you did Harry Potter. But don't worry. I'm sure you'll be comfortable . . . roasting in hell with all the other traitors. Now, move!" He jerked hard on the chain attached to the cuffs and forced Marlene to move with him.

Sirius winced. Marlene was still screaming as they led her away. He knew only vague things about the Society, but wasn't surprised they would come and have Marlene face their justice system. Once you started stealing rare magical texts and beating up their librarians, they wouldn't be inclined to show any mercy.

Once they were gone, the Animagus switched forms and dozed on the floor, it was easier to avoid the eternal depression if he was a dog. And maybe, someday, he would figure out a way to escape and to clear his name. Someday.

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewd and gave me their opinion on how Marlene should be punished. I had a real hard time deciding, so I used one of my suggestions and one from a number of you wanting the Society to punish her. You'll see the Scociety's judgment next chapter and the return of an unexpected ally of Harry's as well as get an answer to a mystery begun earlier in the book. i would also like to thank everyone who sent prayers and well wishes for my mom. She has finally come home from the hospital, and with rest and nutrition, may yet recover fully. **


	31. The Justice of Ravens

**31**

**The Justice of Ravens**

_Council of Ravens_

_Somewhere in North Wales:_

The seven members of the Raven Council, as well as the current Ravenmistress, Arianrhod Melgwyn, gathered in the Hall of Judgment in Ravencrest Castle. Ravencrest had been the seat of the Society for time out of mind, it was a magical fortress hidden away in the misty Welsh hills, surrounded by lofty cliffs that dropped sheerly to the sea on one side, and wild hills where no man trod without leave from a Society member. No Muggle, unless a member, or under a member's protection, could find their way through the hills to the castle. Ordinary magical folk could not either, unless given a charm to guide them. It was said that Ravencrest bordered the Veil, and one wrong step taken could end with you wandering the Land of the Dead. It was formed of a glistening black stone mined only here in the hills, and its lofty towers and fortifications were both beautiful and forbidding. There was amajesty about the old keep that defied description, one had to stand inside the walls or in the courtyard to get a sense of it. From the highest turret flew a flag, a deep blue with a raven flying surrounded by a gold circle. That was the official sigil of the Society, and was flown openly only at this castle.

The castle housed one of the biggest libraries of arcane books and scrolls in either the British Isles or Europe, and was open to any practitioner who sought knowledge for its own sake. The castle would reject anyone seeking to use the magical texts for evil purposes, and the rejection usually took the form of being teleported into the middle of the Wild Wood into a group of unfriendly creatures, like a pride of manticores, or hungry griffins, or bugbears, which were twelve foot tall manlike creatures with the faces and snouts of bears that loved to eat human flesh. Or sometimes being thrown into the ocean where merrows and kelpies would make sport of the dark ones for fun before drowning them.

Several trainees and apprentice archivists were in the library at any given hour, and this day was no different, though the gossip for once was not about the advantages of an obscure text and what it could tell the user, but the prisoner being held in the cell below the hall. Rumors were flying about that this was the infamous Marlene McKinnon, former initiate of the Society, who had been expelled for conduct unbecoming, and had since then gone on to attack a renowned archivist, Irma Pince, putting her in a coma, and steal her key and remove the Codex Magicka from her secret hiding place and use it for her own ends, one of those which was kidnapping the Boy Who Lived. Rumors also hinted that she practiced necromancy, the forbidden art, and had used blood magic as well on a familiar. That she partnered with one of the unquiet dead, a revenant, and trafficked with dark powers. Still other rumors had her dueling a Society member over Harry Potter and striking down a sacred raven!

Any one of those crimes would have blacklisted her for life and resulted in punishment, all of them together branded her a dark witch and a traitor of the first order, doomed to die for the harm she had brought and the knowledge she had misused for evil purposes. It would be the first such trial held at the castle in over a hundred years and many students and initiates wished to attend it.

All were aware that the Council and the Ravenmistress had arrived and were discussing the consequences of former initiate McKinnon's crimes.

Some of the Council favored the "mercy" of a swift transformation, others argued she should simply be executed, either by beheading or a swift acting poison. Still others favored a traditional duel to the death.

But it was the Ravenmistress who had final say, and she would not announce her decision until the trial was over. For there would be a trial, the Society always gave one to those who had trespassed against it, as was proper.

The council members sat about a round table, each with sheaves of parchment in front of them. The Ravenmistress sat, statuesque and proud, in a tall seat, her robes were the black of a raven's plumage, and she had dark golden hair that cascaded to the middle of her back, twined with raven feathers. She looked like a sorceress out of legend, and her eyes were a deep brown. Her robe bore the emblem of the Society on one side and on the other a scepter and a spellbook, indicating her rank. She was tall, topping six feet, and her erect posture only made her seem larger. She appeared to be about forty or so, though rumors had her being much older than she appeared. Her face had an ageless quality about it.

"Have you all reviewed the evidence before you?" she asked.

The Council nodded, there were four witches and three wizards on it.

"Good. Brother Rawlins," she spoke to one of the Society who was trained in the battle arts, and served as a guard. "Fetch the prisoner from the Place of Sorrows and bring her to the hall. Sister Althea, go and make ready the Hall for the trial, ring the bell so that all may witness the trial who wish to. And I shall go and invite our guests, Severus Snape, Harry Potter, and Irma Pince, to come and see justice done to she who harmed them."

Arianrhod stood, her robes sweeping the floor as she strode from the room, her robes flying out behind her like the wings of her beloved ravens. Her familiar, a raven called Tegwyn, was atop one of the castle turrets, sunning herself.

Their guests were in the tower guest rooms, which were outfitted with the most comfortable furniture, and consisted of a suite containing a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room. Irma had her own room next to Harry and Severus'. Lena would have been there too, but Irma insisted that she stay and oversee the library and the students. The trial would not take more than a day at the most, and Irma, as archivist, needed to be there.

Thus Irma was not surprised when a knock came at her door and the Ravenmistress herself greeted her. "My lady! Irma exclaimed. "Has it begun then?"

"It will be beginning shortly, old friend," Arianrhod told her, leaning forward and giving her the kiss of peace on the left cheek. "Come, you'll need to be in the hall to witness it, Archivist Pince."

"I'd not miss it for all the books in Hogwarts," Irma said. She still had the occasional headache and memory lapse from her injury, though her Healers had assured her such would fade in time.

Arianrhod smiled. "Justice shall be done today, Irma."

Then the Ravenmistress went and knocked upon Severus and Harry's suite.

Severus made sure that Harry's school robe was presentable and his hair lying flat with the aid of some Sleek-EZ hair gel. "There!" He gave Harry a quick once-over, and deemed he was ready.

He then cast a few charms over himself to ensure his robes remained wrinkle-free and dust free. His shoes, like Harry's, had been shined to a high gloss. His hair was neatly combed and pulled back slightly. "All right. Let us go down to the Hall of Justice."

Skullduggery flew in the open casement window and perched upon Severus' shoulder.

Together, they and Irma, who was dressed in a midnight blue robe with the archivist symbol of scroll, book, and candle embroidered on her left breast and sleeves, walked down the long staircase and into the Hall of Justice.

The Hall was not yet filled, but already several of the Society members and their apprentices had gathered and filled some of the padded wooden benches which were set like church pews in front of a large pentacle and a high bench. The bench was where the Ravenmistress would question the accused. The Pentacle of Judgment was where McKinnon would stand. It was a spell circle that bound one's magic and served to keep the accused within bounds without using chains or other barbaric devices. Along the first row of benches on the right side would be the Council members. It would be their votes cast and the Ravenmistress' after hearing the accused and contrasting her story with that of the evidence they'd read which would determine her guilt or innocence. So, Marlene could condemn herself out of her own mouth, so to speak, especially if she tried to lie about something.

The Ravenmistress did not believe in coercing methods, such as torture or use of truth potions, to force an accused to speak the truth. The Society believed that the innocent would tell the truth of their own free will, and the guilty would lie. The Ravenmistress' gift of old magic was the peculiar ability to tell when a person spoke lies or truth. Only the Council knew of it, and it was why she was the judge for any trial.

Harry, Severus, and Irma slipped into the hall and made their way to the third bench from the front. Because they were Irma's guests, as well as victims of the accused, they were accorded the front row. Severus, as a Society member, and Harry, as a bearer of the old magic and his apprentice, were treated with all honor and courtesy by those seated next to them. There was an old wizard with a grey beard and bright hazel eyes who introduced himself as Master Heron, an alchemist. And next to him were two younger members, brother and sister by their appearance, who introduced themselves as Valeric and Elora Jones, both were studying the ancient branch of runes.

More and more members entered the hall, filling in the benches. Harry thought the place rather resembled an old church or cathedral, for the ceiling was buttressed and arched far overhead. When he said as much to Severus, the Potions Master nodded in approval. "You are quite correct, Harry. Once this was the cathedral of this castle, several hundred years ago."

"You have a bright young apprentice there, Brother Severus," chuckled Master Heron. "Not many his age would have noted that."

Harry found himself flushing, he hadn't thought his observation that wonderful.

"Harry often notices things other children miss," Severus said and in his voice was pride for his ward.

"He has a raven's intuition," Skull added, bobbing his head.

"Indeed," said Heron. "Perhaps when he is older, he may petition to become an initiate. I believe he would be a credit to the Society."

"Yes, if he wishes," Severus acknowledged.

Irma touched his sleeve lightly, "Look, Severus! She comes!"

Sure enough, Marlene was led into the room by two tall menacing looking wizards, one on either side of her. They each had hold of her arms and walked briskly up to the pentacle and thrust their prisoner inside. No sooner had Marlene's slippered toes cleared the pentacle border than it glowed a brilliant purple, sealing her inside of it.

To Harry's surprise, she was wearing a plain robe of brown and looked to have been treated well, her hair and face were clean, and though thin, she showed no signs of ill treatment. But her eyes burned with a hellish fire, the fire of a woman consumed by her own hatred and madness. He could not meet her gaze, he feared she might curse him somehow, and so he looked around her, and saw the council members file in by another door, and take their seats. Lastly, Arianrhod herself entered, and came to stand behind the bench.

The herald banged a white staff upon the floor and said in a deep baritone, "Hear ye! Hear ye! The trial of Marlene McKinnon vs. the Society has begun, the Honorable Lady Arianrhod Melgwyn presiding. All rise!"

Everyone rose and gave the Ravenmistress a short reverence. She nodded to those assembled then said, in a clear contralto that could be heard in every corner of the room, "My brethren, we are gathered here to determine the guilt or innocence of a former initiate, Marlene McKinnon, for crimes done to two members, the Boy Who Lived, as well as a sacred raven. This trial is in session, please be silent until all evidence is heard."

Arianrhod quickly established the facts, that Marlene was a former member, ousted for her rigid and narrowminded attitude towards Muggleborns, Slytherins, and some half-bloods in general, and also her militant stand towards purging the world of Death Eaters and those supposedly associated with them.

"While we of the Society abhor the dark practitioner, we do not believe in turning ourselves into assassins or using our knowledge to hunt down such people, unless they directly threaten us or our families. Nor do we believe in refusing anyone through blood status into our ranks, all are welcome, even Muggles. It was your refusal to accept our tenets that got you dismissed, Marlene McKinnon. We had hoped to make you see the error of your ways, but it appears that was a fruitless effort, given your new transgressions."

"You are all fools, Ravenmistress!" Marlene declared angrily. "The Death Eaters will not go away because you refuse to fight them. They grow more numerous every day, and it is only thanks to someone like me that you are not attacked and driven from this castle."

"Indeed?" Aianrhod arched an eyebrow. "Are you truly so arrogant, McKinnon, to think that by your efforts alone we are kept safe? If so, then you forget that this castle has stood for centuries as a bastion of knowledge of magic, and it has weathered more storms of dark magic than you know. Has it never occurred to you, Marlene, that by persecuting Slytherins who have done no one harm, that you are driving them right into the arms of the one you claim to despise? What gives you the right to judge your fellow wizads and witches simply on the fact that they were Sorted into one house or another during school?"

"Slytherins are ambitious, selfish, wicked traitors!" Marlene spat. "Everyone knows that! And it's been proved because look at the worst dark wizard of this age and where _he_ came from. Slytherin, the House of Darkness!"

"True, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a Slytherin. But there is always good to balance evil, McKinnon. If, as you say, the worst wizard came out of Slytherin, then so too did the best. We revere his name still. Do you know of whom I speak?" asked the Ravenmistress sharply, as if she were a professor lecturing a backward student.

Marlene shook her head. "Nothing good has ever come out of that house."

"Think again. Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time, was a Slytherin."

"You lie! That's . . . impossible!"

Arianrhod laughed scornfully. "Child, I have no need to lie about facts. And it is fact that Merlin was of Slytherin and with his cunning and power, became King Arthur's mentor and advisor and brought magic back into prominence in the world. There is nothing wrong with ambition, Marlene, provided it is used to further good and just causes. There is no one perfect house, McKinnon, and should you claim Gryffindor is, then best you look in the mirror before you say so. For you are a prime example of courage to the point of recklessness and arrogance become intolerance. Look at what you have done, even to those you claim were friends and the child you claim as your godson."

"Everything I did, I did to help them!"

"Truly? You claim Lily Evans was your best friend in school, yes? That she was a brilliant witch and that you cared for her as a sister?"

"Yes."

"But there was something about Lily you disliked. Care to tell what that was?"

Marlene sneered. "She was friends with a rotten Slytherin . . . Severus Snape! He had one foot on the dark road and she refused to see it. I warned her what would happen if she continued to be friends with that creep! He would drag her right down with him. But she ignored me. She favored that slimy dungeon crawler over perfectly suitable Gryffindor boys! Until I convinced her otherwise!"

Severus tensed in his seat. He had, for the most part, ignored the vitriolic words spewing from McKinnon's mouth, after all there was nothing she said that he hadn't heard before. Except for this. He leaned forward, his eyes riveted upon the brown-robed woman.

"And how did you do that, Marlene?" queried Arianrhod softly.

"Lily always had a soft spot for Snape. She used to prattle on and on about how they played together as children and all that rot. She always insisted he had a good heart, despite the fact that he was friends with unsavory sorts. One day he insulted her, and I thought she was through with him, only to discover she would have forgiven him his "slip of the tongue" as she called it. Poor foolish Lily! She never knew what was best. So I convinced her to have nothing more to do with Snape."

"How?"

"Simple. I used a Forgetfulness Charm and took away her memory of wishing to forgive Snape. Then I used a form of mind control to strip her of all those fond memories of Snape when they were children and friends. I made her lock them away, so she could not access them, and once that was done, she had no trouble telling that lousy Slytherin where to get off."

"You tampered with Lily's memories?" demanded the Ravenmistress harshly.

"In a way. It was for her own good." Marlene declared loftily.

Severus' fists were clenched so tightly they were nearly bloodless. His eyes blazed with fury and it was only Irma's hand upon his arm that kept him from lunging off the bench and at Marlene's throat. "You . . .you . . . bloody _bitch_!" he rasped. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! How dare you play God and make her forget? How _dare_ you?"

Bitter bile surged up in the back of his throat. Lily's sharp rejection of his apology for that afternoon had always rankled, he had always felt as if his heart had been torn out by her refusal to accept his sincere regret and remorse. Her coldness had caused a wall of ice to grow about his heart, so he would not care when he saw her with his rival, James Potter. So he could forget the searing pain when she had turned on him. He had always wondered how she could have tossed him aside so callously. And now he had his answer.

Harry looked over at his guardian and saw the sudden anguish in the dark eyes. He had known that his professor and his mother had been close as children, but he hadn't really known how deep that friendship had run or how it had ended up until now. Seeing Severus' reaction to this unwelcome news made him think that perhaps it had been a bit more than friendship his Potions Master had lost. He felt a great need to hex his vicious godmother. He also felt a great need to comfort Severus. The comforting impulse won out.

He turned and wrapped his arms about his guardian, leaning his head against the other's shoulder. "Uncle Severus, she was always your friend. She told me so in the dream. And she always loved you," he whispered into Severus' ear. "She didn't mention Mad Marlene at all. Just you."

Severus looked down at the messy-haired youngster curled next to him and gave Harry a squeeze. How like Lily Harry was! "Thank you, little raven." The boy's support of him eased the pain somewhat of losing Lily's trust so long ago. For Harry bore a piece of his beloved within him, and through Harry she would always be with him.

"You're welcome." He glared at Marlene. He was so angry at the witch for causing Severus pain that he blurted out the first thing that came into his head regarding her. "She's so full of shit she squirts when she walks, the smelly old hag!"

"That's telling her, _bran_-boy!" Skull crowed.

Their seatmates were convulsed with laughter.

Severus didn't know whether to chuckle at the boy's honesty or to smack him upside the head for his mouth. "Harry James Potter! I ought to wash out your mouth for that," he scolded. Then he felt his mouth quirk up in a reluctant half-grin. "But it is the truth, so I'll let you off this time. Next time, young man, you'll be chewing a bar of Ivory, so help me." And he flicked his fingers against the back of his ward's head.

Harry winced, but all he said was, "Yes, sir. But I couldn't resist, after what she said she did to you and Mum."

"Hush. The Ravenmistress is speaking." Severus ordered as Arianrhod resumed the questioning.

The council heard about Marlene's stealing of the Codex from its hiding spot, discovered by the revenant she had summoned to keep tabs upon the librarian. The revenant had gotten the secret from Irma's mind. It had also dined upon poor Pippin after getting the information Marlene needed. Marlene herself had lain in wait for her and stolen the key and the book after knocking Irma out. She had also shredded the other books to serve as a decoy before departing.

The whispers around the hall grew to a grumbling cry of outrage. Books were sacred to the members of the Society, to willfully destroy them was a terrible waste and almost killing their archivist and murdering her familiar was even worse, as was stealing an artifact.

But even worse yet was the fact that McKinnon felt no remorse over her deeds, she in fact sought to justify them, as she did her kidnapping of Harry and her discipline of him with her ruler, as well as her threat to make him forget Severus. Her attack on Skull she called self defense, even though she had been about to harm Harry, a mere child.

"He is my godson, and I have a responsibility to teach him proper behavior," she told Arianrhod haughtily. "No child ever died of a good thrashing."

"I beg to differ on that score," said the Ravenmistress coldly. "Plenty of children have died under the so-called necessary discipline of a parent or relative. Besides which, you had no legal right to discipline Harry Potter, as you were not among those named as godparent in the Potters' last will and testament."

"That's not so! I was Lily's second choice as godmother, she just never got around to putting it down. Alice Longbottom is vegetating in St. Mungos, nuttier than a fruitcake, how much influence can _she_ have over the boy? As it is, I was too late, and that filthy cauldron licker corrupted him!"

"In what way did Severus Snape corrupt him?"

"He turned my godson into a Slytherin lover! Fed him lies and taught him to hate his own House!"

"You're a bloody liar!" Harry yelled, starting to stand up.

Severus grabbed him about the waist and pulled him back. "Harry, stop! Everyone knows that, now calm down."

"Foul! Foul!" Skullduggery screeched, flying into the air. "Thou harridan, thou lying tongue spake falsities as thy arse spake stinking air! Thou doth make a warthog smell sweet as a spring morn, thou bag of manure, thou reject from an elephant's hind end!"

Severus put a hand over his face. "Skullduggery!" he groaned. Why was it that out of all the ravens in the castle only his familiar had the temerity to speak out during a public trial? Between the raven and his ward, Severus wondered when his heart was going to stop and he would die of embarrassment.

Thank Merlin the Society and Arianrhod were used to insolent ravens and so took no offense.

Indeed many were amused and agreeing with the mouthy bird.

Before the Ravenmistress could conclude her questioning, there came a tremendous THUD that shook the castle to its foundations.

Everyone jumped and some screamed in shock.

"What was _that_?"

"A giant?"

"A troll?"

"Maybe we're under attack?"

"Settle down!" ordered the Ravenmistress. "Tegwyn, go and see just what the disturbance is," she ordered her familiar.

But before her raven could take wing, the doors were thrown open and a young woman with short spiky red hair dressed in leather rushed in. "Forgive me, Ravenmistress, but I had to tell you . . . there is a red and gold Pendragon outside the castle! She calls herself Lady Isolde and she is convinced that the thief who stole her egg is here in this castle."

Gasps of astonishment echoed all over the room.

Arianrhod murmured in surprise, then said to the young woman, "Audrey, ask her when her egg was stolen and how she tracked it here."

"At once, Ravenmistress." The girl bowed and raced out.

A few of the more daring members were muttering and following the girl. Harry longed to follow too, but Severus had him staying firmly in place. "Uncle Severus," he protested. "Can't I go and see?"

"You may not," said his guardian firmly. "Have you forgotten what nearly happened last time you encountered a mother Pendragon?"

"No, but . . . what if it's her?"

"If it is, the best course of action would be to stay far from her," Severus said.

Harry sighed and swung his feet against the bench. Really, he only wanted a look! It wasn't like he' be running up and hugging the beast! "But I just—"

"What part of no don't you understand, Mr. Potter?" asked his guardian testily. "Stop behaving like a three-year-old this instant, before I put you in time out."

Harry blanched and quit swinging his feet and pouting. Severus never made idle threats. Then he got an idea. "Skull, would you recognize the mama Pendragon?"

The raven bobbed his head affirmatively. "Of course, Harry. She's the first dragon I ever conversed with who didn't want to barbecue me. Want me to have a look see?"

"Please."

Skull took wing off Severus' shoulder before the wizard could say anything.

Some six minutes later, Skull returned . . . along with the young girl called Audrey . . . and a familiar red and gold dragon, greatly reduced in size, walking beside her. They were trailed by a smaller version of the adult Pendragon, who looked curiously about her.

Skull landed on Severus' shoulder again. "When Audrey spoke to her, Lady Isolde decided she needed to come speak with us herself."

Severus stared. "Surely that's not the same dragon that attacked the Astronomy Tower. That one was huge!"

"She used a size altering charm, Sev!" Skull hissed.

Harry's eyes were riveted upon the smaller Pendragon. He would know that waddle anywhere, as well as the golden speckles upon her left side. "Viv!" he whispered. "Viviane!"

He thought he spoke low enough so only Skull and Severus would hear. He forgot that a dragon has superior hearing, not to mention smell.

Suddenly, the baby dragon picked up her head, sniffed the air, and then gave a loud, "Meep! Meep!" She had not forgotten the two-legged human who had tended her as a new hatchling. She had missed him.

She veered suddenly and charged over to where Harry was sitting, shoving her head, which was now half the size of Harry, into the pew and making a curious trilling sound, her eyes glowing with love. Her breath wafted over him, a curious blend of wildflowers and roasted meat.

"Viviane! It really is you!" Harry exclaimed, scratching her behind her eye ridge. "You still remember!"

Viv cooed at him happily.

"Harry, will you please get this dunderhead dragonet _off_ me!" grunted Severus, who was being crushed against the bench by Viv's head.

"Ooops! Sorry, sir!" Harry apologized. "Viv, don't kill my guardian, okay?" He shoved the dragonet's head backwards.

Viviane gave a sort of apologetic snort and withdrew her head.

Harry slid out of the pew and came to stand next to the dragonet, who was bigger than he was now. "Wow! You've grown so much!"

Viv crooned at him. Then she brought her head level with Harry's chest and tried to snuggle him, nearly knocking him backwards.

Harry's arms went about her and he tried to hug her, a dopey grin on his face.

The little Pendragon purred happily then said, "Har-ry!"

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Viv, you can _talk_?"

Suddenly he found himself face to face with a pair of enormous eyes and a long fanged snout as Isolde had turned about to see why her offspring was no longer following.

"She has done nothing but babble your name since gaining the ability to speak tongues," Isolde hissed in fond exasperation. "I'm beginning to regret teaching her human speech, young wizard."

Harry gulped and gave the mother dragon a tentative smile. "Uh . . . hi, pleased to meet you, my lady. I'm Harry Potter."

Isolde snorted and a cloud of gray smoke rolled over the apprentice wizard. "Yes, boy, I know exactly who you are," she said wearily. "I hear Harry this and Harry that upwards of a thousand times all day."

Severus was on his feet by then, his wand clutched in his fist. He could not help but recall the last time he had seen this dragon, flying above Hogwarts, ready to flame his ward.

The female Pendragon swung her head about and cocked an amused eye at him. "Oh, do sit down, master wizard! I shall not roast your apprentice. My dragonet would never forgive me, not to mention I owe him a debt for caring for my little one. That night . . . I was not myself . . . I was angry and frightened, as I'm sure you can relate to."

"Yes, my lady, I certainly can," Severus said, giving her a bow.

The Pendragon smiled toothily. "Mmm . . . I trust you impressed upon the boy the folly of challenging me that night?"

"I did, Lady Isolde," Severus replied. "Most firmly."

Isolde dipped her head. "Younglings!" Her tone was one that any parent could relate to—loving exasperation. "They drive you to chew your own tail, do they not?"

"Err . . . in a manner of speaking, yes," Severus agreed.

Harry sniggered into his sleeve. Viv purred, "Har-ry! Har-ry!"

Isolde rolled her eyes. "Still, you ought to be proud of the child. He did an honorable thing, raising my daughter. Most humans would have killed her in the egg. Might I have your name, master wizard?"

"I am Severus Snape, Potions Master, my lady."

"You are to be commended, Severus Snape, for your careful teaching of your boy here." Then her eyes narrowed. "Who, I would assume, no longer uses dragon parts in your potions."

"Not any longer, lady," Severus managed to say, a cold chill racing down his spine. He mentally began calculating how many potions used dragon parts and what to substitute for them.

"That is well." Isolde snorted. She looked lovingly at her dragonet, then said, "Harry, would you look after Viviane while I attend to this unpleasant business?"

"I would be honored," Harry said, still hugging Viv's head to him.

"You have my thanks." The Pendragon said regally, then she swung herself about and continued towards the Ravenmistress and Marlene, who had gone the color of a week old corpse inside the pentacle.

Isolde bared her teeth and gave a snarl, which echoed about the chamber and caused people to hold their ears in pain. "Thief! Your hour of reckoning has come due!"

"Meep!" Viviane squeaked, and tried to hide behind Harry. "Mama's mad."

"I don't blame her," Harry said, shivering. He patted the dragonet's shoulder.

Marlene appeared as if she were about to pass out. She began to moan softly.

Isolde's nostrils smoldered, and she hissed, "Ravenmistress, this mortal has dared trespass upon me. She stole my egg, and my dragonet within it, some months ago, while I hunted. When I returned and found my egg missing, I immediately sought to find the thief, but she had cast a web of confusion about my lair, and I was trapped within it. It took me several weeks to break free and when I did, I tracked my dragonet to the school your kind calls Hogwarts. I thought at first the young apprentice there was the thief, but I was mistaken. Now I have the scent of the true thief and she is here before you!"

The hall went deathly still.

Arianrhod swallowed and said respectfully, "Mighty Isolde, I regret that this one standing before you has committed such an offense. Know that she has committed other offenses against us and shall be punished according to our laws."

The Pendragon cocked her head. "And what shall be the penalty, Ravenmistress?"

"She shall forfeit her life."

Marlene began to sob. "Mercy, I beg thee!"

"_Silence!"_ snapped the Ravenmistress. "For what you have done, willingly and with malice aforethought, there is only one mercy I shall grant you . . . a swift death."

"'Tis fitting. Might I carry out the sentence then?" the Pendragon asked. "Then our honor shall be satisfied."

Arianrhod had no choice but to agree. One does not gainsay a Pendragon bent on revenge.

Isolde's eyes glittered a fiery red. She drew in a deep lungful of air.

Harry covered Viv's eyes with his hands. "Don't look," he whispered, then he shut his own.

There came a white hot jet of flame from Isolde's mouth.

Inside the pentacle was a smoking spot on the floor, all that remained of Marlene McKinnon.

"Damn!" Irma muttered. "Justice has been served, all right."

Severus nodded. "There was one thing, however, that I would have liked to ask her."

"What was that?"

"Where in hell the revenant she summoned is now," answered the Potions Master softly. "Unless I am mistaken, it is still roaming free, and now that she is dead, all bindings upon it are loosed."

"Merciful Merlin!" Irma paled.

Before they could speak further, Isolde returned to collect her offspring. "Come, child," she crooned softly. "My business here is finished, 'tis time to go home."

Viv shook her head. "But Mama . . .Har-ry!"

"Harry must remain here and go to school." Isolde sighed.

Viv curled her head and looked at Harry upside down. "Why?"

"It's what wizards do. Now say goodbye, Viviane."

The dragonet whined. "Come back soon?"

"Someday."

"Soon?"

"Yes, Viviane."

The little dragon nuzzled Harry. Two huge tears of liquid gold slid down her cheeks and clinked into Harry's palm. "Miss Har-ry!"

Harry stared at the tears. He hadn't known dragons wept, much less tears of gold. "I'll miss you too, Viv," he said, hugging her as much as he could. His own eyes were wet. "But you be good and go with your mama. She needs you and you belong with her, understand?"

"Yess . . ." Viviane hissed sadly. "Love Mama." Then she slurped Harry's cheek. "Love Har-ry too."

Harry grimaced. "Aww, Viv!"

Isolde let out a rumble of amusement. "She shall never forget you, Harry Potter. Keep the tears she has shed for you. It is a rare thing, for a Pendragon to weep for a mortal. Your master can tell you the properties of dragon tears. For your service, I name you dragonfriend. May the fire of your magic burn ever bright." And the great dragon dipped her head in reverence.

Then she snapped her head up. "Viviane, come."

"Leave now?" the dragonet whimpered.

"Yes." The Pendragon said, and she began to walk up the aisle, her tail dragging.

"Har-ry come?" Viv asked hopefully.

"Not now." Isolde heaved a vast sigh.

"Soon?"

"Yes, child. Now tell Harry goodbye."

Viviane looked from her retreating mother to the wizard she had bonded with, torn.

Harry gently shoved her. "Go on!" He kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, now get!"

Isolde paused before the doors, which were thrown open and craned her head around. "Viviane!" she said in a tone of extreme exasperation.

The dragonet made up her mind. "Coming, Mama! Bye, Har-ry!"

Then she raced up the aisle, her tail nearly knocking over some benches in her wake.

Isolde scooped her up in one clawed forefoot and exited the hall.

Harry suddenly followed, needing to see them depart. Several others accompanied him.

The Pendragon left the castle and once in the courtyard her form shimmered and enlarged to giant proportions, until she was once again her normal size. She gave a gigantic leap and was airborne, her wings spreading until they nearly blotted out the sun sinking in the west. She soared higher, circled once about the castle.

"Farewell, wizards!" she called, then she shot off to the west and disappeared.

Harry clutched the dragon tears in his palm. He knew he should feel privileged and honored. He did, but he also would miss Viv. "Bye, Viv." He blinked sharply.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Severus. He said nothing, merely handed Harry a handkerchief to blot his eyes.

But Harry knew he understood and he leaned against the black clad sorcerer and gazed up at the sky wondering when he would see Viviane again.

**A/N: And so justice is served, Pendragon style. This chapter was for everyone who asked to see Viv again. Hope you all liked!**


	32. Evil Stalking

**32**

**Evil Stalking**

After the trial and its verdict, Severus, Harry, and Irma were invited to a banquet in their honor, and also to spend the night as well. Neither Severus nor Irma had any pressing business back at the castle and since it was a weekend, Harry didn't have class, so they decided to accept the Society's generous offer.

After the feast, which contained specialties like honey roasted boar and stuffed quail and leek and beef soup, plus freshly baked wheaten bread and roasted vegetables, Severus and Irma decided to go to bed early and made Harry go with them. Harry was a bit awed at the castle, he was sure it was as big or bigger than Hogwarts, and all the Society members seemed to be measuring him for something, and so he didn't put up much of a fight when Severus had him come up to the room they shared.

Upon entering the room he saw a strange little creature, who upon seeing him bowed low and cried, "Master Harry Potter, sir! Prissy has come to serve you now that Mistress Marlene has passed the Veil."

Prissy, now that she was no longer under the McKinnon invisibility restriction, could show herself to Harry. She was a small elf with big pointed ears, long blond hair, and huge eyes colored turquoise. She was wearing a tea towel with the McKinnon crest on it, it looked like a toga upon her. She rather reminded Harry of those troll dolls that had been so popular with girls last year, although the trolls had had hair all the colors of the rainbow, smaller ears, and tiny eyes.

Harry stopped dead in shock. "Prissy! W-what do you mean, you want to serve me?"

"Harry, will you please move out of the doorway?" Severus asked irritably.

"Oh, sorry! But Uncle Severus, look! It's Prissy, Marlene's house elf." Harry said, moving out of the doorway.

Severus entered, with Skull on his shoulder, and gave the elf a hard look. "You were bound to the McKinnon family?"

"Prissy was, Master Professor Snape. But now Mistress is gone, Prissy's contract had expired and Prissy is free to seek a new master. Prissy chooses Master Harry Potter."

"Uncle Sev, I don't understand. I'm not anybody's master. I don't want to . . . to have slaves or whatever." Harry protested.

Prissy's face crumpled. "Master Harry sir! Master Harry does not understand. 'Tis not slavery, but honorable service. Prissy wishes to express gratitude to Master Harry by this."

Harry fumbled for a reply, he didn't want to hurt the elf's feelings. "You helped me a lot more than I did you. I'm the one who owes you."

"No! No! There are no debts between us." Prissy shook her head frantically. She looked as if she were going to burst into tears.

"Please calm down." Severus told the distraught elf. "Harry, a word with you." He pulled his ward halfway across the room and whispered, "When a house elf's mind is set upon something, it will take a miracle to change it. If you continue to refuse her offer, she shall be gravely insulted."

"But . . . but Uncle Severus . . . I don't need a servant," Harry protested. "I can pick up after myself and everything."

"I know that, but this elf clearly has her heart set on you. If you accept, you can set terms of your own choosing, such as allowing her a day off, or giving her a uniform to wear, and allowing her to suggest things for you. You do not have to be like the McKinnons."

"But why . . . why does she want to be contracted to another wizard at all? I would think after how the McKinnons treated her, she'd be glad to be free." Harry objected.

"House elves prefer serving a wizard family or institution to being free, Harry. It's odd to someone like you or me, but they enjoy having a master or mistress. It's simply how they are." Severus explained. "Besides, Prissy feels she owes you a debt and house elves take obligations very seriously."

"In other words, _bran-_boy, you can't get rid of her." Skull croaked. "So just say yes."

"Master Harry?" Prissy asked, her lower lip quivering.

"Okay, I accept your offer, Prissy. But I want you to do a few things for me . . .the first thing is to wear a kind of uniform for me."

"Prissy shall! Prissy is soo happy to work for Master Harry!" the little elf was beaming from ear to ear. "What is the Potter family crest and colors?"

Harry frowned, he hadn't know his family even had such things. "Uh . . ."

"The Potter colors are sea blue and gold with a griffin rampant upon a divided background," Severus supplied.

Harry turned wondering eyes to him. "How do you know that?"

"When I was around your age, my mother taught me heraldry, and included the crests of all the known pureblood families," Severus replied. "Your father's was one of them."

Prissy bowed and suddenly the tea towel was gone and in its place was a snappy tunic and skirt ensemble of sea blue and gold with a griffin rearing upon the left breast. "Master Harry, is this acceptable?"

Harry nodded. He then outlined a few rules and Prissy bowed and asked if he required assistance. Harry declined and Prissy disappeared. Harry was still rather confused in his new role and decided to sleep on it. One thing he did know, and that was he would never be the sort of master Marlene had been.

As he was finishing getting ready for bed, Skull crowed, "Congratulations, _bran-_boy. Now you're a member of the aristocracy."

Harry frowned at the raven. "No, I'm not. I'm just Harry, Skull." Yet somehow he sensed that he would never be 'just Harry' again.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Lena received an owl from Irma warning about the revenant on the loose. Lena had studied the half-corporeal undead, and knew that once a revenant was freed of a witch or wizard's control, it could become a deadly opponent. Because the revenant had been sent, according to Harry, to watch the library and maybe even steal back the Codex, Lena set about protecting the library with an ancient form of rune magic. Long ago, the Society had made a study of rune magic and cited that Hogwarts had been built with rune magic etched into its very stones.

So Lena called upon those studies now and began to etch several protective runes into the stone arches and walls of the library with her wand. The runes glowed a strident blue as she did so, and then they faded into invisibility. Only another practitioner of the magic or a Society member trained in what to look for would spot them. They would prevent any evil, such as the revenant, from passing through to the library, and also protect whoever was inside the library, or who called upon them for aid. Lena just prayed it would be enough.

She then went to speak with the Headmaster, to give him warning and warn all the House Heads to keep their charges safe in their common rooms and dorms that evening. She even went to speak with Professor Quirrell and ask him to set some extra Defense spells, but oddly enough found him absent from his quarters. On the way back from them she encountered Argus Filch, and asked if he'd seen Quirinius lately.

"Can't say I have, ma'am. What business would he be havin' this time o'night, I can't say," Filch spat. He was already suspicious of Quirrell, especially since his cat, Mrs. Norris, disliked the professor and hissed at him whenever he walked by her. He trusted his familiar, for cats could always sense things about a person others could not.

"Oh, well, if you happen to see him, please send him to me." Lena requested.

"Will do, ma'am."

"Argus, it might be a good idea for you to . . . stay in your quarters tonight. There is something evil afoot." Lena warned.

"Like what?"

"A revenant. Do you know what that is?"

Argus spat and shivered. "Aye, I know. Why would you think such would be here?"

Lena explained her suspicions and what her aunt had told her. "So please do as I say, because I wouldn't like for something to happen to you."

The Squib nodded. "Ma'am, I shall stay in my quarters tonight. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for the warning."

Lena smiled and then she headed back up the stairs to her own quarters. She was glad that her aunt, Severus, and Harry were not in the castle tonight, for they were three less people she had to worry about. As she climbed the stairs, she felt a chill, deep as winter, flow through her.

It was so cold it stole her breath. She started to run, knowing all the while she could never run fast enough to escape a revenant. She reached the library and set her hand upon the door just as the revenant appeared.

It hissed at her, its red eyes burning like banked coals. She felt the undead thing's fury as it tried to make her do its bidding. "Tell me where it is, librarian!" it hissed, its voice hollow as the grave. "Where is the book of power?"

Lena shuddered as the revenant attempted to break into her mind and rip the information from her as it had done to Irma. But unlike Irma, Lena was a mind magus, and had shields in place that were nearly as good as a natural Occlumens. She could feel the venomous touch of the revenant, scratching at her shields and she quivered all over, her stomach doing flip flops as she attempted to stave off the attack. The book! It still wanted the book! Irma had been right.

Lena slapped the side of the doorframe where the runes had been etched and they began to glow stridently. The castle's magic suddenly surged through them as Lena called silently for help. _Hogwarts, save me from this creature of darkness._

The revenant lunged, all blackness and size, trying to grab her by the throat, but the rune magic suddenly sucked her backwards through the door, and she disappeared into the wood just as the revenant's nails scored deep talon-like marks in the wood.

There came a scream of agony as the revenant was burned by the runes, and drew back, shaking its hand, which was rimed with fire and burnt to the bone. It hovered before the library, not daring to come too close, and gave a loud wail of frustration.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and then there came yet another scream, but this one was human and it was brief.

Snarling viciously, the revenant fled to hide as it sensed more presences approaching, and these even stronger in magic. As it vanished into the ether once again, Dumbledore, Minerva, and Filius arrived, wands drawn, in answer to Lena's frantic mind summons.

But they found the corridor before the library doors empty of the revenant and Quirrell lay facedown halfway to the library.

"Quirinius!" Filius called in alarm, and went to turn over the stricken professor. But even as he did so, he knew it was too late. The purple turbaned professor was stone cold dead, all the life drained out of him by the revenant's touch. His turban had come unwound, and the back of Quirrell's head had been exposed.

"He's gone, Albus," reported Flitwirck sadly. "But look at the back of his head."

The Charms professor indicated Quirinius' bald pate, which looked blistered and burned, as if he'd stuck it into a fire.

"What a shame," sighed Dumbledore. He gently covered the professor with his cloak, then went to rap upon the library door, calling Lena's name. When he got no response, he pushed open the doors and entered, finding a shaken Lena standing in front of the Restricted Section, inside a Circle of Protection, her wand drawn, ready to fight to protect her precious books.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

When Severus, Harry, Irma, and Skullduggery arrived at Hogwarts early the next morning, they found the castle buzzing about the sudden death of Professor Quirrell, and what could have caused it, for Dumbledore hadn't told the students yet about the revenant, not wanting to start a panic. As soon as Irma learned the attack had taken place outside the library, she ran to find her niece.

Severus, in turn, went to find Dumbledore, but first he took Harry to his quarters and said sternly, "Under no circumstances are you to leave here unless I return and give you permission, Harry. Is that understood?"

Harry sighed and nodded. He really wished he could ask his friends what was going on.

"I'll stay with you, Harry," Skull promised, flying to him and gently crooning into his ear.

Harry reached up and scratched the raven's head, thinking that at least he wasn't alone.

"How long do you think you'll be, Uncle?" Harry asked as Severus turned to go.

"I do not know, Harry. But if you need anything, just call Prissy." Severus replied. Then he strode out the door, his cloak billowing.

Harry flopped down on the couch and sighed. He hated being cooped up. He called Prissy and asked for a cup of cocoa and the Daily Prophet.

The elf delightedly brought him what he'd asked for. Harry began to read the paper. Quirrell's untimely death was on the front page, but nobody seemed to know what he'd died from. _Cause of death: unknown_, the article read. "I know what caused it," Harry whispered to Skull. "It was the revenant. Right, Skull?"

"Most likely," the raven cawed. Then he began to groom himself, sitting atop Harry's head while the boy continued reading. Though he did not say so, the wily raven knew the situation was dire. The revenant could strike anywhere in the castle that was unwarded, at any time, at anyone. It had drained Quirrell, and so it was not hungry, but the energy it had stolen from the Defense teacher merely made it a stronger opponent and a more deadly one.

**A/N: Please excuse the shortness of this chapter, but I am writing this from my mother's hospice room. She has recently taken a turn for the worse and is terminal and may only live for another day or two. I will not be updating this story, or any of my others anytime soon, and they are on temporary hiatus. They are NOT abandoned. Please review and God bless.**


	33. Revenant

**33**

**Revenant**

Deep in the bowels of the castle, beneath the dungeons, was a maze of tunnels and catacombs. These catacombs had been built as a last line of defense should invaders from without lay siege to the castle, and offered the wizards a final refuge. Or so it had been once, in the days of the Founders and their children, when Muggles were witch hunters and persecuted magic-wielders without mercy. There were storerooms which contained enough provisions to last a hundred years-food, blankets, pillows, lanterns, and candles. There was a deep cistern of pure water to use for washing and cooking. There were even toilets, and rooms that seemed endless. But the existence of the catacombs had long been forgotten save by a few. One of those was the Headmaster, whose job it was to know the layout of the castle down to the last stone. The Founder ghosts knew of the catacombs and so did the librarians, who had access to the building plans of the castle itself. But other than that, no one else now living remembered they were there.

The revenant used that knowledge to its own advantage, slipping through the walls and the floor to take shelter in the dark depths, where it could rest undisturbed until the time was right to strike and eliminate all those who opposed it. Once it had been a vengeful spirit, summoned by Marlene McKinnon to do her bidding, but it had become much more than that now. After it had devoured Quirrell's spirit and magical energy, it became stronger, faster, and it had merged its awareness with another, far greater, soul. It was this merging that gave it a power beyond the one it had inherited in death, as the dominant spirit had been a magic wielder of great power.

As it hung in the half-life on the border between the living and the dead, the revenant chuckled darkly to itself. In life it had been a master manipulator, quick to anger and quicker to harm those who opposed it. With its untimely death, it became a receptacle of rage and hatred against the living, and had been willing to work with McKinnon to create havoc and fear among the wizards who had wronged her. Her naked ambition and misguided beliefs in her own superiority caused her to misjudge the revenant, and believe that because she had the Codex Magicka, the revenant was hers to command.

In reality, she had little control over what the spirit did. It had obeyed because her goals ran parallel to its own, and it was always happy to cause pain and suffering to living. Now it had a deeper ambition . . . to kill certain people and then to rule over the world with the living as its slaves. It also wanted to revenge itself on those who had betrayed it . . . an old man with a white beard, a witch bearing the sigil of the Society of Ravens, a black-robed wizard who had tricked it into believing he could be trusted, and last but not least, a young boy with green eyes and a powerful magical gift. All of these must die, or else its ambition would never be fulfilled. It had no fear of death itself, as a mostly corporeal spirit, it was practically immortal.

There was one way it could be unbound and destroyed, but it required mastery of a discipline none of his enemies had.

All it had to do was wait for the right opportunity, and take down its enemies one at a time. It drifted in the air, a tattered remnant of a lost soul, waiting for night to fall again.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Headmaster's Office:_

Severus paced up and down Albus' office, too agitated to sit down in the chair he'd been offered. Quirrell's death had shaken him, though he hated to admit it.

"Severus, do try and calm down," the Headmaster began soothingly. "You remind me of a caged panther."

Severus whirled on him, his black cloak billowing. "Calm down?" he repeated incredulously. "A colleague of mine has been murdered and you want me to calm down?" He fixed Dumbledore with a hard obsidian gaze. "What are you planning on doing about this, Albus? Burying your head in the sand like an ostrich? Do you not comprehend the danger we are all in? Especially the students?"

"Of course, Severus. But going off half-cocked will not help anything," Dumbledore began.

Severus' jaw clenched until a vein throbbed in it. "Albus, I am ready to go off fully cocked unless you tell me that you are going to take what happened seriously. Quirrell was drained of his life force, and I know of only one type of creature that could do that. A revenant. A creature that is practically immortal and well nigh impossible to kill. _It is here in the castle, Albus._ And it hunts us. Or it will soon." Severus declared menacingly. "We have only a few defenses against it, and if we fail to stop it, there will be more deaths. Now, I ask you again, _what will you do?_ If it were up to me, I would close the school, and send the children home, get them as far away as possible."

Albus looked rather alarmed. "Severus, surely the revenant can be contained?"

"No, Albus. With what could we contain it? It can become incorporeal at will, walk through walls. Some wards will stop it, but even injuries to its body shall heal in time."

"Can we banish it then?"

"I do not know. I know only that it was summoned by McKinnon, but at her death, when it should have returned from whence it came, it stayed. Now it is bound to no wizard's command. Now it is free, and it hates us with a singular hatred of the undead for the living. When it returns from whatever dark hole it is hiding in, it will come to slay innocents. It lives for such destruction, Albus. You need to act now, Headmaster, and save the children. Before it's too late."

The Headmaster looked suddenly weary and old. "The school has not been closed down in over fifty years. Not since the Chamber of Secrets was last opened. I feel as though I have failed, Severus."

Severus placed his hands on the desk and looked the old man right in the eyes. "You shall feel even worse if students die because you dithered instead of acting. Close the school, Albus. Then we can try and combat this thing as best we can. What did you do with Quirrell's body?"

Albus blinked at the abrupt change of subject. "Err . . . we were going to have a service and bury him on the grounds. Why?"

"Burn the body and scatter the ashes," Severus ordered.

"Burn the—"

"He was drained by a revenant. Those who are killed that way may rise again, under the revenant's control, or so say the legends. Burn his body and scatter the ashes. And do it quickly. You can still hold the service without a body."

Albus nodded. "I shall make sure it is done. How do you know so much about these creatures?"

Severus snorted. "That should be obvious. As a spy I studied them, in case I ever needed to fight one. I know as much as anyone about what it is capable of. There is little we can do to protect the students, save for locking them in their common rooms and warding them. That is how Lena escaped it. I shall ask Irma and her to help me ward the common rooms."

"And the Hall too," Albus urged. "While you are doing that, I shall arrange the memorial service and contact the parents."

"What will you tell them? The truth?"

"I don't want to risk a panic. So I will tell them a half-truth."

Severus shook his head. "And when the truth finally does come out, you shall look like a duplicitous fool."

The Headmaster chuckled slightly. "There are worse things I could be, Severus. A lying fool is the least of them. I shall make an announcement in the hall tonight that all the students are to stay in their common rooms once you have warded them. Classes will be canceled and the Hogwarts Express will be ready to transport them home within two days."

"Good. I shall send Harry home with the Weasleys and then return to help you fight the revenant. Since the Codex Magicka summoned it, perhaps it has the magic needed to defeat it as well. I will ask Lena to research it."

"Very good, Severus. Well, I shall leave you to your tasks. Angels and ministers of grace defend us."

"And may fortune favor the foolish," Severus returned, quirking an eyebrow. Then he spun on his heel and left the office, going to the library first to ask Irma and Lena for help with the wards. Afterwards he would see how Harry was doing. He walked briskly up the stairs and strode down the corridor to the library, his boots tapping out an ominous rhythm on the floor. He felt the back of his neck prickle in warning and though he could see nothing, he had the feeling he was being watched.

He glanced cautiously behind him, but nothing was there. Yet all his instincts warned of danger.

When he crossed the library threshold, however, he felt the wards activate, and a feeling of peace and warmth steal over him. He saw Irma and Lena over near the Restricted Section, talking softly. He made his way over to them, his boots treading soundlessly on the carpet.

"Forgive me for interrupting, ladies, but I need to speak with you privately. Is there somewhere we can go that we won't be overheard?"

"Severus, great Ceridwen!" Lena squeaked. "You scared me half to death." She put a hand on her heart.

"Sorry, but this can't wait, Lena."

"Over here, in the Restricted Section," Irma said. She opened the door with her key and led the way inside.

The door locked behind them and it had Anti-Eavesdropping charms on it. "What's been happening? Has Dumbledore decided what we should do?" Irma asked.

"He has decided to close the school."

"Thank Merlin! We need to get these children home safe and sound. Then we can deal with this bloody walking corpse!" Irma declared.

Severus nodded. "There are, however, things we must do to protect the children while they are still here. Lena, I know you cast rune magic on the library. Can you teach me how so that I may ward my Slytherins' common room entrance? And teach the other House Heads as well? The students need somewhere to go where the revenant cannot follow."

"I can. And Aunt Irma knows the runes too." Lena agreed.

"I shall work with Minerva and Filius," Irma said.

"And I will help Pomona as well as Severus," Lena told her. "Is there anything else we may do to help?"

"Yes. I need you to do some research on revenants. Specifically, their weaknesses. Can you use the Codex Magicka? Albus and I thought perhaps it may have some information to banish or fight a revenant, as it has spells in there to summon one."

"I shall get to work on it as soon as the wards are up," the librarian assured him.

"Thank you, Lena." Severus exhaled a sigh of relief. "I am sorry for not asking sooner, but how are you?"

The blond woman grimaced. "I'm not hurt physically. The castle and the runes protected me from the revenant's attack. But it scared me, Severus. I have never known such terror before and I pray I never will again. I thought I was going to die." She shuddered. "I know I shall have nightmares from it."

"Anyone would. Come to me if you need Dreamless Sleep," he patted her shoulder lightly. "You were fortunate, not many survive an attack like that. Your ingenuity and resourcefulness saved you."

"The teachings of the Society saved me," Lena answered quietly. "Otherwise I would be a corpse."

"Merlin and Ceridwen forbid!" Irma said fervently. She hugged her niece.

Lena hugged her back. Then she followed Severus out of the library. Time was of the essence.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Meanwhile, Harry was lying on the couch in Severus' quarters, slowly going stir crazy. He hated being confined and hated more being kept in the dark. He heaved a sigh and said to the raven perched above his head, "Skull, it's been almost an hour and a half. I want to go and talk to my friends, at least. I know they're probably wondering what happened to me."

"Why don't you ask Prissy to fetch them for you? Sev never said you couldn't have visitors while you waited," Skull suggested.

"That's true." Harry brightened. It was almost four o'clock, and so his friends were out of class by now. "Prissy! Could you come here, please?"

The elf popped in. "What does Master Harry need?"

"Uh, can you tell my friends I want them to come and visit?"

"Certainly. What be your friends names?"

"Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom."

"Prissy shall be back shortly." She popped away.

While Harry waited for his friends' arrival, Skullduggery sang "You've Got A Friend In Me."

Harry smiled at the goofy raven, who was parading up and down the couch, his feathered "bonnet" standing up.

Prissy returned and bowed to Harry. "Master's friends have arrived. Would Master Harry like some refreshments?"

"Yes, please," Harry said, just as a knock came at the door. He went and opened it. There stood all four of his friends. "Come on in."

"When did you acquire a house elf, Potter?" Draco asked as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"Did the Society give her to you for arresting Mad Marlene?" Ron asked, as he followed Malfoy.

"I've heard that house elves are treated no better than slaves by wizards," Hermione began disapprovingly. "Harry, I never thought you'd be part of that."

Harry shut the door then went to sit on the couch. "Hermione, Prissy's not my slave. I freed her by giving her clothing and she agreed to work for me, because she had nowhere else to go. She claims I saved her life."

Just then Prissy popped back in with a tray full of snacks and drinks. The elf looked at Hermione. "Master Harry saved Prissy's life by bringing evil Mistress Marlene to justice. Prissy owes Master Harry a debt of gratitude. It is an honor to serve Master Harry." This was the longest speech Harry had ever heard the elf utter since coming to Hogwarts. Prissy coughed, blushed, then blinked away.

"See, Hermione. Prissy likes serving Harry," Neville said.

"Oh. I . . . I didn't realize . . ." Hermione said apologetically.

"It's okay," Harry waved off her apology.

"So, tell us what happened at the trial," Draco said, he was far more interested in that than he was house elves.

Harry launched into a full description of the trial and its outcome. Everyone cheered when they learned of Marlene's fate. They were even more astonished that Viv had come to see Harry.

"She _talks_!" Ron exclaimed. "Bloody hell!"

"_Ron_!" Hermione frowned. "You're lucky the professor isn't here, he'd wash out your mouth."

Harry smirked. "Yeah, about as well as a two-year-old."

"That'd be about her mental level right now," Draco said sagely. "Did she mention the rest of us?"

"Uh . . . not really. But then I didn't really have time to talk to her, just a few minutes and then she left." Harry said, now feeling bad that the dragonet hadn't recalled her other caregivers.

"Guess it makes sense she would remember you, Harry. You were with her the most," Neville said calmly.

The others nodded in agreement, but Ron looked disappointed.

But then the redhead asked, "Hey, have you heard what happened here while you were gone? Old Quirrell bit the dust."

"_Ron_! Have some respect for the dead." Hermione cried, aghast.

"What for? He's pushing up daisies, Hermione, he won't care."

"So? The poor man died of a heart attack right in the middle of the corridor. The least you can do is be polite. After all, he was our teacher."

"Who nobody liked," Ron retorted.

"Still . . ."

Harry bit his lip, wondering if he should correct his friends about Quirrell's death. He knew quite well it hadn't been a heart condition that killed the Defense professor. But he held his tongue for once, figuring Severus would have a fit if Harry blurted out that little secret. "Who found him?"

"I think Dumbledore and McGonagall did," Draco answered. "They must have gotten one hell of a shock. Lucky they didn't drop dead too."

"That would have been a real disaster," Hermione commented.

"For you, maybe. The rest of us would have had a holiday," Ron teased.

"Ron, you're terrible!"

"I was kidding, Hermione. Can't you take a joke?"

"Not when you're joking about people dying," Hermione huffed.

"Enough about dying, you're making me depressed!" Skull squawked. "And I'm a black bird, so it's easy for me to be that way. How about we tell jokes? That's always fun!"

"What kind of jokes, Skull?" asked Harry.

"Knock knock jokes. They're one of my favorites." The raven purred. "Here, I'll start. Knock knock!"

"Who's there?" Harry responded.

"Madam."

"Madam who?"

"Madamn foot got caught in the door!" Skull warbled, affecting a Scottish accent.

The kids cracked up, for the saucy raven sounded like a male version of Minerva McGonagall.

"Your turn, Harry," Skull said.

"Uh . . . okay. Let me think," Harry said. It had been a long time since he had told any knock knock jokes. "All right, here I go. Knock knock."

"Who's there?" Skull cackled, sounding like an old lady.

"Honey bee."

"Honey bee who?"

"Honey bee a dear and get me a butterbeer."

"Good one, Harry!" Ron said, clapping.

The rest of them were giggling.

"Hermione, do you know any knock knock jokes?" Harry queried.

"Of course. My best friend in primary school and I used to tell dozens of them. Here's one for you, Harry. Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Yacht."

"Yacht who?"

"Yacht a know me by now," Hermione said, affecting a country accent.

"I want a turn." Ron said. "Give me one, Harry."

"Okay. Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Voodoo."

"Huh?" Ron looked puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Just say voodoo who?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Oh. Uh . . . Voodoo who?"

"Voodoo you tink you are?" Harry growled, using a Transylvanian accent.

That got everyone snickering again.

"Skull, you tell me one," Draco urged.

"Will do. Knock knock." The raven made a knocking noise.

"Who's there?" asked Draco.

"Stopwatch."

"Stopwatch who?"

"Stopwatch your doing and open this door!" Skull cawed.

"That was really clever, Skull!" Neville grinned. "Hermione, here's one my Uncle Algy told me. Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Alpaca."

"Alpaca who?"

"Alpaca the trunk, you pack the suitcase."

"Brilliant, Nev!" Skullduggery trilled. "Now, let's see who can . . .na-a-me that tune!" Then he began to twirl about and sing part of a popular song. "Bang, bang on the door, baby! I can't hear you!" he began to bob up and down as if to invisible music.

Harry thought the tune sounded familiar, but couldn't place it. Hermione was muttering to herself. The rest just looked blank.

Skull sang another line. "Knock a little louder, sugar!"

As if on cue, Severus came through the door. "Skullduggery, what in Merlin's name . . .?"

"Hiya, Sev! We're having a contest. Can you . . . na-ame that tune?" the raven demanded, sounding like a game show host. "Like a fool, I fell in love with you, you turned my world upside down . . ."

"Bird, please. Of course I know that song." Severus rolled his eyes. "It was one of the most popular tunes of my generation." Though he didn't say so, that had been Lily's favorite song.

"Name it then!" challenged the raven.

"Layla."

"Gold star, baby!" Skull crooned, making smooching noises. "But . . . can you name the artist?"

"Derek and the Dominos. Later re-made by Eric Clapton."

"You're the grand prize winner, Mr. Snape! Woo hoo! You've just won a trip to Hawaii!"

By then the kids were rolling about on the floor, laughing fit to die.

Severus shook his head. "Harry, what is the meaning of this?"

Before Harry could reply, Skull broke in with, "It's a pajama party, Sev!"

"Hush, Skullduggery! Before I send you on a one way trip to Hawaii," Severus threatened. "Harry?"

Harry swallowed, wondering if he were in trouble. Snape had told him not to leave his quarters, he never said anything about inviting friends over. "Uh . . . I was bored in here. so I invited my friends over. I was telling them about Marlene's trial."

"And how she got toasted," Ron put in. "And then we told Harry about Quirrell keeling over in the middle of the hallway, dead as a doornail."

"Mr. Weasley, kindly refrain from speaking so flippantly about your deceased teacher." Severus reproved. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Neville asked, puzzled.

"Now, I believe it is time for supper, so you should all start heading to the hall. The Headmaster had a few important announcements to make. Come, I shall escort you." He opened the door and they all filed out and marched up the stairs to the Great Hall.

Harry felt like he was in primary school again, and almost expected Severus to tell them to get in a straight line and keep together now, children.

Skullduggery flew overhead, like a black harbinger of doom.

Once in the hall, they all separated to sit with their Housemates, and Severus walked up to the staff table.

All the professors were already there, and when everyone was seated, Dumbledore banged on his goblet and stood. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen! I have an important announcement to make. The memorial service for Professor Quirrell will be held at dusk today on the lawn and you are all invited to attend. There is another announcement I shall make when supper is ended." He waved his wand and food appeared on all the tables. Then he sat down and began to eat his pork chops with apples.

More muttering rose around the hall as everyone was talking about Quirrell's death again. Some of the students were rather upset, while others were indifferent, and a few were openly scornful.

Harry concentrated on eating, even though he wasn't very hungry after eating the snacks Prissy had brought. Still, he made himself eat half of the roast beef, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

After the sweet course, Dumbledore rose to his feet and addressed the students again. "Attention, everyone! I'm afraid I have some sad news to deliver. In two days time, Hogwarts will be closing due to an unprecedented incident that occurred last night. It was brought to my attention by our assistant librarian, Lena Rosario, that the castle has been invaded by a dangerous creature. In order to ensure your safety, I have decided to close the school for a time, sending you home to your families until this creature has been subdued. I regret this course of action is necessary, but I can take no chances with your well being. The train will arrive at Hogsmeade in two days. Until then your classes have been cancelled, as it no longer safe for you to roam the halls. I ask that after you attend the service for Professor Quirrell, you all return immediately to your dormitories and remain there until further notice. Your common rooms have been spelled to repel this creature and you are safe there until you go back home. Please do not attempt to leave your common rooms unless you are accompanied by a professor, for any reason. Or else you might well die a horrible death. That is all."

The Headmaster resumed his seat.

The hall erupted with shocked whispers and murmurs.

"What kind of creature is dangerous enough to make the school close?"

"Maybe it's the one locked down in the Chamber of Secrets."

"I think this creature was what offed Quirrell."

"But he died of natural causes."

"Yeah, like being scared to death. That's a natural cause."

"I wonder if our parents know?"

"Mine are away in France. What do I do?"

"Have a party, dolt!"

"Par-tay!

"I'm scared. I want to go home now."

"Crybaby!"

"It's probably a load of dung. You know how Dumbledore exaggerates."

Harry winced at all the noise. It was starting to give him a headache. He had forgotten how loud the students could get when they were all talking at once. He supposed that if the school were closing, he would go with Severus to his home, wherever that was. But then he thought of something else. Who was going to fight the revenant? How did you even kill one?

He looked at Ron. "Are you going to the service?"

Ron shrugged. "Are you?"

"Yeah. I didn't really care for Quirrell as a teacher, but I should pay my respects. Uncle Severus would make me anyhow."

Ron winced. "I feel sorry for you sometimes, Harry."

"Why? Severus is a good guardian, Ron."

"But he has so many rules! I'll bet he has a rule about going to sleep."

Harry snorted. "He thinks I need more of it, but he hasn't given me a bedtime, if that's what you're getting at."

"Whatever you say, Harry. I guess I'll go to the service," Ron sighed.

"I think everyone should go," Hermione stated. "No matter what you think of Quirrell as a professor, he's dead now, and deserves a proper memorial."

"I agree. It'd be terrible if no one went," Neville said.

"Well, we're all going, so don't worry about it," Ron frowned. Gripe though he did about the Defense professor, the youngest Weasley son would not have dared not to attend. Molly would have had a conniption at his lack of respect, and he knew better.

Everyone was still discussing the closing of Hogwarts when they filed out of the hall and through the double doors. Or most of the students did, Harry amended. Some chose not to attend and they made their way to their common rooms, to pack or contact their parents, though most of them knew already about Hogwarts closing.

The students attending the memorial gathered in a circle on the lawn. Dumbledore and Minerva spoke the eulogy, saying what a shame it was that Quirrell had been taken from them so suddenly. Dumbledore explained that this service was meant to honor the late professor and there would be no viewing for the body had been cremated.

That piece of information caused another stir, as the students speculated why that would be so.

"Maybe he died of a deadly disease, like the plague."

"Don't be an idiot, Thomasina. The plague's been wiped out."

"_I_ think he was possessed. Don't they burn possessed people to keep them from rising from the dead?"

"That's vampires, idiot!"

"What if Quirrell was a vampire?"

"Yeah, right! If he was, he was the sorriest vampire ever."

Speculation and rumor swirled about like hornets, and Harry remained still, knowing all of them were wrong. He alone knew the truth, and it sent shivers down his spine. The memorial service lasted for about half an hour, and all the professors came up and said something kind about their lost colleague.

When it was Snape's turn, he said, "Quirinius might not have been the most courageous man, but he tried hard and was good in defeating mountain trolls."

"And he was a great orator!" Skull added impudently.

That sent the students and even the professors into gales of laughter.

Severus was furious. "Skull, one of these days I'm going to hex your beak shut!"

"Aww, c'mon, Sev! Knock 'em dead with laughter is my motto."

Severus gave the raven a death glare. "You're incorrigible!"

"That's my middle name, don't wear it out."

"Someone ought to wear you out, all right. With a willow switch."

Skull pretended to sniffle and whimper like a small child. "You're mean! I'm reporting you to the Society. Then you'll be sorry! They'll take away your membership."

"Humph! You're not fooling anyone with that drama queen act." Severus snorted, reaching up a hand to scratch the mischievous bird on the chest.

"Oooh! That feels good, Sevvy! More please! I forgive you." The raven leaned into the Potion Master's hand.

The service ended soon after that, and the professors escorted all the students there back to their common rooms.

Harry hesitated, unsure whether he should go with the other Gryffindors or with Severus. Then Skull called, "_Bran-_ boy, come on. It won't do to keep his Royal Snarkiness waiting, he's in a pet today."

Harry hid a snicker behind his hand.

Severus sighed. "Harry, a word with you. And ignore the talking quill stand on my shoulder, he's in rare form today."

Harry grinned, the familiar banter was soothing to him. "What did you want to talk to me about, sir?" he asked, falling into step beside his guardian.

"When you all leave the school, I will be sending you to the Burrow with Ronald. I feel it is better if you stay there than alone at my house."

"But . . . where will you be?"

"Here, helping the Headmaster and the other professors hunt down the creature. It will need careful planning and skill to find it and take it down."

"How can you kill it?"

Severus held up a hand, then continued walking towards his quarters. Once they were behind the closed door, the Potions Master answered Harry's question. "It's very difficult, and there is no permanent way to destroy a revenant, save one. Otherwise the best one can do is banishment for a period of time."

"What way?"

"It's said that in order to fully destroy the spirit, you must fight and kill it in the Place Between Worlds. And to do that you have to be able to Travel there. Or know one who can."

"Skullduggery can."

"Yes. Which is why he is staying with me."

Harry suddenly felt afraid for his guardian and for the sassy familiar. "Be careful, Uncle Sev. Don't let it get the jump on you."

"I shall try my best not to," Severus said, sounding more confident than he felt.

"Me too, _bran_-boy. Fear not, I shall return!" Skull promised, hopping onto Harry's shoulder and nuzzling him.

Severus put an arm about his ward and hugged him. "Enjoy your time at the Burrow, Harry and don't worry about me. I have survived much worse and lived to tell the tale."

Harry tried to think positively, but still, there was a strange foreboding in the back of his mind and he had a feeling that all would not go well. The revenant was an opponent unlike any other and Harry was afraid that not even Severus and Skullduggery could stand against it.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

The clock in the Great Hall struck midnight. A shadow detached itself from the mass of them clustered along the wall and glided along, cold, dark, and hungry. It could smell the warm bodies that had passed down the corridor earlier and it hissed and thought about consuming them.

But it could not find where they had gone, and when it trailed the scent to a locked door, it tried to pass through.

But the runes hidden along the frame flared to life, and repulsed the dark creature violently enough to send it flying down the stairs. Burned and aching, it hissed in frustration. The runes would not let it pass! They were too strong for it to break. It knew the children were behind the door, the scent of magic was strong in the air. But it could not reach them.

It traveled unseen about the castle and tried to get to the others behind locked doors to no avail. It would get no food here tonight, and it threw back its head and wailed, a high twisted sound that froze the ones who heard it into statues. Angrily, it descended back down through the floor and into the catacombs. It would have to wait, and so it would do so. It did not mind the waiting, for the dead care nothing for time. All that mattered was the ones who crossed it be killed, by whatever means necessary.

**A/N: Finally back to writing this after two months or so. I had this on hiatus since my mom passed away, as I didn't feel like doing much writing after she was gone. Hope you like what occurred here. Thanks for being so patient. I will try and update as soon as I can.**

**Trivia question: Who can name the first tune Skull was singing to Harry & co? Bonus points for naming the artist too!**


	34. A Power He Knows Not

**34**

**A Power He Knows Not**

Lena was curled up in a study carrel, flipping through pages of the Codex Magicka, trying to find any sort of reference to revenants or the Place Between Worlds. The book did not speak to her as it did to Harry, she suspected that was very rare and it only communicated that way with a chosen few. Finally she found the section on summoning revenants. The book clearly warned against doing so, and also mentioned that once summoned, could not guarantee control over the creature. The level of control over an undead depended solely upon the will of the magic wielder. The information on how to banish one was a few paragraphs only.

_For those wishing to lay to rest such a tormented soul, you may employ runic circles or a banishment spell such as used upon demons and those from the Ninth Circle. However, such methods are temporary, and the revenant may still be called forth after a year and a day by another practitioner. In order to fully lay the soul to rest, you must Travel to the Place Between Worlds and there subdue it and bind it or destroy it utterly. And the stronger the spirit, the more struggle one will face, for it is not in the nature of vengeance and hatred to go quietly into the night. One must have the utmost determination, focus, and power. In the Place Between Worlds it is the will and innate magic that determines victory or defeat._

There were a few footnotes regarding mind disciplines and Lena skimmed them, for they were standard practices for mind mages, and she knew them all by heart. She also read the section on astral travel, and how to assist a fellow magus who was not born with that talent take the Path Between Worlds. Lena suspected that Skull could help Severus better than she could, as she had only traveled the spirit road a few times with Irma.

She began taking notes, wishing the book mentioned a bit more about the vulnerability of revenants. Of course, perhaps the reason there was so little on them was because they had few vulnerabilities. She felt a hard knot of fear and worry settle in the pit of her stomach. She had escaped the revenant once . . . but would she be able to do so a second time?

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

_The next morning:_

The students were carefully shepherded to and from their common rooms, allowed to eat breakfast and lunch in the hall before returning to their rooms to pack and whisper about what was lurking in the school. Some students had parents come and Floo them home, but others waited for the Hogwarts Express, which was being given an overhaul and painted with runes to prevent the revenant from being able to board it. Though it was unlikely the revenant would come out of the castle, especially during the day, when the sun was out, every precaution was being taken with the safety of the students.

Harry spoke with Ron during breakfast and lunch, telling him that Severus wanted Harry to go stay with the Weasleys until this whole thing with the revenant had been sorted out. Ron was very excited to have Harry over the Burrow and began planning all sorts of things to do while he was there. Normally, Harry would have been excited to sleep over at a friend's house, because he'd never done it before, but his premonitions and fears for Severus and Skull were clouding his enjoyment.

As he was walking back with Severus and Skull to Snape's quarters, he head a familiar voice in his head. _Traveler child, come to me. I would speak with you._

He nearly tripped over his own feet upon hearing the Codex in his head.

"Careful, Harry!" Skull squawked.

Severus reached out a hand to steady him. "Watch where you walk, Harry."

"I was, Uncle Sev. It just startled me, is all."

"What did?"

"The Codex, it called for me. I heard it in my head. It wants me to come to it," he explained softly.

"The book still speaks with you?"

"Well, this is the first time it's said anything since we brought it back, but . . . yeah."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Then we should see what it wishes to tell you."

They changed their direction, heading up the stairs to the library.

They found Lena in the Restricted Section, and she unlocked the archive when they knocked at the door.

"Severus and Harry! What an unexpected surprise," the librarian exclaimed. "I've been reading up in the Codex about revenants all of last evening and this morning," she explained, rubbing her eyes, which were itchy and stinging from fatigue. "What brings you here?"

"The Codex called Harry and asked him to come and talk with it," Severus explained.

"It did? Ceridwen's Grace!"

Harry walked over to the Codex, which had just been shut, and placed his hands upon the ancient tome. The book glowed and Harry felt the grimoire's presence in his head.

_Well met again, young Traveler! I have sensed an ancient evil stalking me, and you as well. If you do not plan on taking me with you, I ask that you put me in a secure place where the evil cannot reach me._

"You're safe here in the library. The revenant can't get to you, not past the runes."

_Ah, that is good to know. But what if yourself, little wizard? Are you safe?_

"I'm going to be leaving the school soon and going to a friend's house."

_Even so . . . beware of the evil one. It too knows how to Travel and may seek you out. To aid you, I shall give you some of my magic._

Before Harry could say anything, the book sent three pulses of magical energy into him, and he felt his magical core nearly overflowing with an ancient magic. He gasped and swayed a little, but then steadied. He felt a bit dizzy and sort of intoxicated with the influx of power.

"Harry! What just happened?" Severus demanded, alarmed.

Harry turned and looked at him. "Umm . . . the book told me to beware of the revenant . . . and it used its magic to protect me."

Lena's mouth hung open. "How amazing! I never knew the Codex could do that!"

"It's a sentient object, I imagine it can do a lot when it chooses to." Severus remarked. "Harry, are you feeling well? You look flushed." He laid the back of his hand against his ward's forehead. "You're a little warm, but that could be from the transfer of magic."

"I feel okay, Uncle Sev," Harry assured him. Then he startled giggling. "Well, I feel kind of bubbly, sort of like I drank some champagne. But I'm fine."

"Sit down and wait till your head clears," ordered his guardian. "You feel giddy because the transfer was faster than your body can handle and it needs to adjust." He pushed Harry into a chair.

Harry waited until the magic filling him seemed to have settled, then he lifted his head. "That was strange."

"Do you think you can walk now?' asked Lena kindly.

Harry nodded. He now felt full of energy, as if he'd drunk a Stimulant Draft. He silently thanked the book for helping him. Then he gave a pleading glance to Severus. "Uncle Sev, do you think I might . . . uh . . . be able to stay here now that—"

"Absolutely not, young man," Severus interjected firmly. "You are getting on the train and going home with the Weasleys. And don't even think about trying to pull some fool stunt, like hiding in a closet, or jumping off the train as soon as my back is turned. I want you well away from here, and if you give me any trouble, I shall bind you and carry you onto the train over my shoulder and Stick you to the seat."

Harry looked horrified by that threat and murmured, "Okay, I'll behave. You don't need to humiliate me in front of everybody."

"Do as you are told and that won't be necessary," his guardian warned. "You cannot die of humiliation, believe me, I know. You _can_, however, die from confronting a revenant."

Harry kept his mouth shut through a monumental effort. It was useless to argue, once Snape had made up his mind, it would take an act of God to change it. Besides, he knew Severus meant well. He was trying to protect him, as a good guardian should. But that didn't make it any easier for him to like it.

"You can die too, sir," he reminded his guardian. "So please be careful."

"Don't worry so, _bran_-boy. I'll look out for him and Lady Rook," Skullduggery piped up. "Have no fear, the Great Raven Avenger is here!"

"Merlin help us all!" muttered Severus. The raven stuck his tongue out at his master. "Come, Harry. You might as well start packing, if you haven't already. I'm not certain how long the school shall be closed, it all depends on if we can get rid of the revenant sooner rather than later." Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and together they left the library.

It was a pensive and quiet boy that entered the Potion's Master's quarters. Rather than try and persuade Severus further and risk getting in trouble, Harry went to his room and opened his trunk. He began to pack some clothes, books, and shoes, throwing them into the trunk, not even bothering to fold them. After fifteen minutes he sat on the bed and stared at the trunk dejectedly. He knew he should feel like every other student in the school, happy to get an unexpected holiday. Instead he felt sick to his stomach every time he thought about Severus facing down the deadly revenant. He drew his knees up to his chin and rested his head on them. He knew he should finish packing, but he just couldn't muster up the willpower. So he brooded instead.

Two hours later, Severus tapped on his door. "Harry, it's nearing supper. Would you prefer to eat in the hall or here?"

There came a muffled response.

"Excuse me? I can't hear you."

"I said, I'm not very hungry."

Severus pushed open the door and came in. "Harry, sulking about this is not going to change anything . . ." He looked over at Harry's trunk and heaved a sigh of exasperation. "Ceridwen's Cauldron, boy, is this all you've gotten done? Didn't anyone ever teach you how to pack?"

"No."

Severus waved a hand and all of Harry's hastily dumped possessions flew back out of the trunk and landed on the bed. "Watch me. This is how you fold clothes." He demonstrated on a few shirts, trousers, and underpants. "Then you place them in the trunk neatly, it's easier if you have designated spots for them, so you can find what you need in a hurry." He showed Harry where he had placed everything. "Now you try."

"Can't you just do it?"

Severus frowned. "No. You're a big boy, you can learn to do this yourself. Now quit it with the attitude and do as I showed you."

"How can you worry about stupid clothes at a time like this?" Harry burst out. "You could have your soul sucked out or lost forever! Doesn't that scare you? Don't you care at all?" His arm swept out and knocked some of his clothes off the bed. They lay in a heap on the floor. Harry ignored them, hunching his shoulders and biting his lip in frustration.

Severus looked at the boy and sighed. He sat down beside the distraught youngster and said, "I realize the dangers of confronting the revenant more than you do, Harry. Am I afraid? I would be a fool if I weren't. But understand something. I am not going into this blind, or without backup. I know what advantages my adversary holds. But I also know that I shall be assisted by Irma, Lena, Skull, and even the Headmaster. And if it turns out that we cannot destroy the revenant, we shall banish it instead. So long as it is driven far from the school, I shall be content. I am not going to make this into a suicide mission, Harry. I intend to survive and come back here. I shall not abandon you, trust me." He put an arm about the boy's shoulders comfortingly. "What will ease my mind most is that you are safely away from here. Then I can focus on defeating the revenant, instead of worrying about you. _That_ is why I am sending you away. Understand?"

Slowly, Harry nodded. "Yeah. I get it. I just don't like it." He buried his face in the potions professor's shoulder, drawing in deep breaths of the spicy scent that always clung to Snape's robes. It made him feel a little better.

Severus patted his back. "Come now, Harry. Don't look so glum. Have a little faith in my Defense skills."

Harry remained curled up on his side, not answering.

"All right. Enough brooding and moping, it's not healthy. Pick up your clothes and start packing. Everything will work out." He reached over and gave the reluctant boy a firm swat on the rear. "Up with you, Potter! Soonest begun is soonest done."

Harry jumped and glared at his guardian. "Okay, I'm doing it!" He stood and began picking up the clothes. "Isn't there a way to pack with magic?"

"Yes, but the charm is too advanced for you yet. Besides, learning to pack right is a skill you should learn without magic first. That way you appreciate the time it saves."

Severus stayed in the room while Harry folded and packed his remaining items, offering advice and correction. Finally it was finished, and then Harry accompanied Severus into the sitting area and ate supper, which was fettuccini Alfredo with shrimp, garlic bread, and strawberry shortcake. Harry found that he was actually hungry and ate everything on his plate. Severus silently refilled it and watched, pleased that his ward's appetite was finally approaching that of a normal eleven year old.

Afterwards, they sat on the couch and read, sipping tea and hot cocoa. Skullduggery dozed on the back of Snape's chair.

The warmth of the fire and the quiet companionship served to make Harry fall asleep. He dozed off right in the middle of a sentence. The next thing he knew was he was in his own bed, Severus pulling the blankets about him and whispering, "Good night, little raven. Sleep well."

Harry smiled as he felt a cool hand pat his cheek, then he was gone into the gray realm of sleep.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

The Hogwarts Express waited upon the Hogsmeade platform, huffing and puffing like some great medieval beast. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were going to escort the students back to King's Cross, just in case something unforeseen happened. Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express the next morning with the rest of the students, though not before giving Severus a long hug and scratching Skull's head feathers. "I'll see you soon," was all he managed to say through the lump in his throat.

"Until we meet again, Harry," Skull crooned, gently preening Harry's hair. "When you return I'll be singing this oldy but goody . . ." he burst into a rendition of "Another One Bites the Dust."

That made Harry grin in spite of himself.

Severus took him by the shoulders and said, "You be on your best behavior now, Harry James. Or I'll know the reason why."

"Yessir," Harry said automatically. Then he hugged the Potions Master and whispered, "Come back safe."

"Always, son." Severus hugged him back, then released him as the engine began to whistle.

Harry turned, jumped on the stairs, and waved. He made his way to a compartment with a window, where his friends were sitting, and watched his black-robed professor until he was out of sight.

The rest of the children cheered as the train pulled out. Harry smiled a little, then he turned and asked Ron where he would be sleeping, trying to keep his mind off of Severus.

The ride to King's Cross seemed to drag on forever, at least until Harry fell asleep.

When he woke, the train was pulling into Platform 9 and ¾'s.

He grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and followed Ron and his brothers off the train and through the barrier to where Arthur waited with his Ford Anglia.

Arthur smiled genially at him. "Hullo, Harry! Good to see you again! Just put your trunk in the boot with the others, don't worry, it'll fit. This car's bigger on the inside than it looks."

Harry did and then squeezed in the back seat with Ron and the twins, Percy claimed shotgun since he was the oldest. Harry held Hedwig on his lap. Oddly enough, there was room for all of them. "Is this . . . a magic car?"

"Sure is, mate!" Ron enthused. "Dad tinkered a bit with it so it can hold all of us when we go somewhere, and it turns invisible and it flies too."

"Yeah, but Dad's still working on that," Fred interjected. "Sometimes it conks out."

"But he'll get eventually. He always does," George said.

Mr. Weasley drove the car through the streets and once they were out of London and on a less used road, he pressed a button, pulled a lever, and they were airborne and invisible.

Everyone cheered.

"Now, hold on boys, I'm going to fly about halfway to Ottery St. Catchpole, but that should shave off a few hours. Here we go!"

Harry found himself actually enjoying the car ride, and when they finally reached the Burrow, Molly had lunch waiting for them. She warmly greeted Harry and told him to make himself at home and had Ron show him the loft bedroom where he would be staying. After putting away his trunk and releasing Hedwig from her cage, Harry followed Ron downstairs for lunch.

Molly had made hot roast beef sandwiches with gravy, mashed potatoes, and seasoned green beans.

Harry saw that Mr. Weasley, the twins, and Percy were already seated at the table. Molly was getting drinks and a young girl of about ten was setting the table. She turned about and almost poked Harry with a fork.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she gasped, dropping the utensil on the floor.

"It's okay. Let me get it." Harry said, bending down to pick up the fork at the same time.

He ended up holding one end and the girl the other.

"No, really . . ." she blushed.

"It's no problem . . ." he said at the same time.

Ron cracked up. "You two are almost as bad as Gred and Forge. Harry, meet Ginny, my little sister."

Ginny released the fork and said softly, "How d'you do?"

"Fine, thanks." He shook her hand.

"Harry, dear, take a seat. And don't be shy, just help yourself." Molly ordered.

Harry took the seat next to Ron and Molly. Ginny sat on Ron's other side.

There were crispy rolls on each plate and soon everyone was taking juicy roast beef, fried onions, and cheese for their sandwiches. The bowl of potatoes was passed around along with the beans and everyone enjoyed their meal.

As they ate, Fred and George began to discuss what sort of monster might be lurking in the castle.

Harry did not say anything about the revenant, he didn't want to be reminded of it.

"Well, whatever it is, Dumbledore and Snape will kick its ass," Percy said decisively. "So I'm not going to worry about it."

"Me neither," said Ron. "I'm just going to enjoy my holiday."

Harry nodded, wishing he could be as confident.

After lunch was over, Ron took Harry outside and showed him how to de-gnome the garden and then they played three on three Quidditch with Fred, Geroge, Percy, and Ginny.

By the time the game was over, dusk was falling, and Harry wondered how things were going back at the castle. Had they found where the revenant laired yet? Were they battling it even now? He could not shake the foreboding that dogged him. He went back into the house, worrying his lower lip. _Please,_ he prayed. _Please let them be all right._

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Hogwarts:_

As soon as the students left, Severus brought Irma and Lena down to his quarters so they could practice Traveling the astral plane. He wanted them to be well rested and somewhat proficient before they attempted to find the revenant. Dumbledore told them he would join them shortly, he still had some paperwork to fill out for the Board of Governors and the Ministry, he would be in his office if they needed him. The Headmaster had declined Lena's instruction in Traveling, saying that he did not have the talent necessary and trying to attempt an out of body exercise always left him nauseous for days. Albus had agreed to monitor the three others and make sure no harm came to their corporeal selves. The rest of the professors had gone home, as per Dumbledore's orders.

It was for that reason that Severus had insisted they practice in his quarters, which were warded so tightly not even a fly escaped his notice. Skullduggery would also help, as a raven he could travel back and forth between worlds as easily as breathing, all he did was will himself incorporeal. He was also the most experienced traveler of the bunch, and soon he had helped all three magic wielders make the crossing several times.

Skull explained that in the Place Between Worlds it was paramount that one had a guide, for not all was sweetness and light in the astral, and many predators, such as Spirit Devourers, stalked new souls and ate them. But the raven knew where they lurked and was careful to bring them to a peaceful glade the first few times they crossed, so they could get the feel of their new forms and how to move about and fight with them.

"Here, your greatest weapon is your mind, for that is what you use to get from here to there. Focus your mind, focus your magic, and it's done." the raven explained cheerily.

Severus, Lena, and Irma practiced throwing bolts of magic, summoning an astral wind, and conjuring shields of psionic force. They faced off with one another, determining who was better at doing what, so they could coordinate their attacks against the revenant. None of them were foolish enough to think they could take it on alone.

They soon determined that Irma was the best with shields, Severus could unleash devastating bolts of pure force, and Lena could call a wind with the best weatherworker. Skull could be where-ever he wished, and in the astral, his talons and beak were like swords and could pierce through anything. All of them agreed they should try and draw the revenant out, instead of letting it hunt them, then they would have the high ground, and the element of surprise.

Skull decided to scout in the aether, searching for the revenant's magical signature. Then he would tell the three friends where it was and perhaps they could drive it into the upper floors of the castle.

Little did they know that something else would serve to bring it up from its hiding place first.

The revenant had gone several days without food. Now it was starving. It emerged from the darkness with a soft whoosh, it's energy drained, and began to look for children to feed on. Finding none of the previous luscious smells, it screamed and howled in fury. But the only scents that lingered merely served to whet its appetite for innocent or powerful souls.

It floated through the castle, hissing in frustration as it found room after room empty of occupants. Its eyes glowed a hellish red and it made an odd singsong growl deep in its throat. Finally it caught a flicker of a presence, a strong magical presence up above and it flew faster than thought to the Headmaster's office.

At first the ward repulsed it, but its will was steel and after four more attempts it managed to slip through a tiny hole in the wards and enter the office, silent as the grave.

Albus looked up, a cold shiver racing down his spine. He felt . . . unsettled. But when he looked he could see nothing. He capped his inkwell and then stood, relieving cramped muscles. As he stretched with his arms over his head, he had the creepiest feeling that he was being watched from sinister eyes.

Slowly, he turned . . . and the revenant appeared, shrouded in darkness, all blackness and size, demonic eyes burning with hatred and the lust to kill.

A terrible chill emanated from the tall form, and the temperature in the office dropped down to near freezing. The chill of the grave, accompanied by a wave of fear so strong it nearly paralyzed the old man.

"Surrender, old fool! It is useless to resist!" hissed the spirit. "You are mine, meddler!"

Dumbledore used wandless magic to throw the container of Floo powder into the fireplace, then whirled and sprinted for the green flames, yelling, "Severus Snape's quarters!"

But Albus underestimated just how quick the revenant could move. Before his foot crossed the threshold of the hearth the revenant was across the room and seizing him in a terrible grip.

At its touch, Dumbledore felt the blood turn to ice in his veins, and he could not move. It held him in a relentless grip and try though he did, the wizard could not escape. He brought his magic to bear, and blue fire swept through the spirit, but it had no effect on the wraith.

It laughed mockingly. "That the best you can do, old man? Yes? You were easier than I thought. And now . . . you die." Quicker than thought, it lunged and fastened its mouth upon Dumbledore's and began to suck the energy and life right out of him.

The wizard fought, but it was futile. Cold crept over him as all the warmth and life was drawn away, and the revenant hissed in pleasure as Albus screamed and screamed in terror and denial.

A bluish haze hung over both figures and the wraith drew in it, drinking its fill.

That would have been the finish for the Headmaster, had not Skullduggery heard his psychic cry for help.

The raven flew with the speed of thought to the Headmaster's office, appearing above the two adversaries. Back in the real world once more, Skullduggery dove down upon the spirit, who was also solid at the moment. The raven's deadly beak sliced at the creature's face, aiming for the eyes.

The revenant shrieked as Skull's beak struck home, putting out one glowing eye.

"Ha! Take that, Satan's playfellow!" the raven screamed, flying away and circling for another pass.

The revenant cried out in rage. Though it did not bleed like a human, it could feel pain, and it clapped a hand to its face as it tried to grab the raven.

Skullduggery was too quick, and shot down for another strike, this time scratching long furrows in its face with his talons. "Come try me on for size, Scar Face!" he taunted. "Dumbledore, get out!" The raven yelled as he flew towards the huge window.

The revenant attacked the bird, trying to trap the canny raven against the window.

Dumbledore called out his destination, and stumbled into the green flames, emerging in Severus' quarters.

Skullduggery vanished then, slipping back into the astral. With a howl of fury, the revenant followed.

Irma looked up as Albus stumbled out of the fireplace. "Albus, good heavens!"

He was pale as wax and gasping. "Irma . . . revenant . . . in my quarters . . . ambushed me!"

Irma grabbed his arm and helped him to a chair. "How did you escape?"

"Skullduggery helped me . . . marvelous bird!"

"Here, Albus. Drink some tea and eat some chocolate." She handed him a cup of her special herbal tea that calmed nerves and gave energy to those who drank it.

Albus eagerly drank the tea and ate the chocolate. "Never . . . been up against anything like that. So powerful . . . and so evil." He shivered. He had never felt so sick in his life. "Where's Lena and Severus?"

"They are still 'out'," Irma explained. She indicated the two sleeping forms, one in the recliner, the other on the couch. "Where did the revenant go?'

"I don't know, Irma. Just that Skull made it follow him. They both vanished."

"Hmm . . . they need to be warned," Irma suddenly slumped to the ground and sent herself out, searching for her friend and niece.

She located the two glowing spirit selves almost immediately, linked as they were to their bodies by a single silver cord.

"Aunt Irma?" Lena called, her spirit self a hazy white and purple.

"Beware! The revenant attacked Dumbledore in his office and almost finished him. Skull led it off on a wild goose chase but it'll be coming for you next."

"We'll be ready," Severus said determinedly.

"Go back and see to Albus, Aunt Irma. We can manage here," Lena urged. She was horrified that the creature had managed to almost take out the Headmaster! She had, like many others, thought of Dumbledore as being almost immortal. The attack had shaken her up badly.

Irma vanished, using the cord to float back into her body.

Now only two remained on the gray road, awaiting their adversary.

"Shields!" Severus snapped, like a general giving orders to his troops before riding into battle.

Lena obeyed, conjuring a shield of pure will and energy. Beside her, Severus did the same.

They could not see or hear the revenant, but they both felt a strong presence of darkness encroaching.

"It comes," Lena whispered, her eyes wide with fright.

"I know. Be ready," Severus nodded. He could feel the old adrenaline course through him as a sudden darkness flowed towards them.

Skullduggery burst upon them, his wings blurs, cawing. "'Ware, Ravens! It's right behind me."

The raven shot upward, gaining altitude and putting distance between the hellspawn and himself.

The revenant emerged from the cloud of shadows, using them to obscure its enemy's sight.

Lena felt as if she had been struck blind. "Severus! I can't see!"

"Fly over the damn cloud!" Severus yelled, and proceeded to soar upwards. When he was looking down on the revenant, he cut loose with a blast of magic.

The magic punctured the cloud and the revenant screamed.

Lena released a Gust of Wind charm, and the cold icy wind that filled the Place Between Worlds came in a rush. It slammed into the wraith, almost ripping its spirit body to shreds.

"Got it!" Lena cheered.

"Do it again."

Once again, Lena released the wind. Only this time the revenant was prepared and became a half spirit, able to withstand the powerful wind gusts.

Skull attacked again from above, trying to keep the revenant off balance. His talons pierced the revenant's hood.

The creature shrieked and lashed out with one taloned hand. It caught the wily raven a glancing blow and sent Skull tumbling through the air.

"Skullduggery!" Severus cried, his heart nearly shattering. He did not know if Skull were alive. He sent three concentrated blasts into the revenant.

The revenant shook them off and came on, lunging at them with the speed of thought. It burnt itself on their shields, but the pain mattered little to it.

Again and again it slammed against their shields, but it just kept trying. It was relentless and with the magic gained from Dumbledore, stronger than ever.

For a split second, Lena's concentration wavered, as she wondered where her aunt was.

But that momentary lapse was enough for the revenant to smash through her shields and clout her alongside the head. She groaned and fell to her knees, the bright aura of her magic flickering and now dimming. It trickled from her like blood from a wound, staining the air a lurid purple.

Severus turned and saw her there, her spirit self bore countless wounds and he could tell she was nearing the end of her strength. "Lena, go! Get out before it's too late!"

"I'm afraid it'll always be too late. I'm not leaving you."

"Go! You're going to die here, you know!"

"Maybe."

"Lena, please go home! You're in no condition to fight. One more direct hit and you'll be a ghost yourself."

Lena knew what he was saying was true, but she hated to give up so soon. She quickly wove several shields and placed them around Severus, then she felt sheer exhaustion sweep through her. "Forgive me, Severus. I'll be back as soon as . . ."she trailed off then, disappearing from sight.

The revenant laughed hollowly. "Poor little Snape, all alone with the big bad revenant. I've been waiting a long time for this, traitor! Now it ends."

The revenant lunged through every shield Lena erected and tackled Severus to the ground. It had its bony hands around the Potion Master's neck and was squeezing.

Severus felt himself gasp for air, his eyes bugging out. He couldn't move, there was a cold mist surrounding him and something else creeping up into his legs. He tried to call for Skull, but got no response. He felt his vision blur and realized that without help he would soon be joining his ancestors.

He felt despair flow over him and heard the rattle of imminent death coming closer and closer . . .

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_The Burrow:_

Harry woke up from a sound sleep, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. He had dreamed that Severus, Lena, and the others were locked in mortal combat with the revenant and they were being killed off one by one. The dream was so vivid and terrifying that Harry couldn't go back to sleep and couldn't shake the feeling that it was a premonition.

Suddenly, he heard the Codex in his head. _Hurry, Traveler! Your guardian and his companions are in dire straits! The evil one is destroying them, as it now has part of the magic of your white wizard within it. If you would save them, be quick!_

Harry never hesitated. There was no time to think, only act. He threw himself into a meditative trance and then slipped free of his mortal shell, soaring through the veil and into the Place Between Worlds.

Glancing about, he saw no battle. _Where are they? I don't see anyone!_

_Follow your heart, boy. Listen!_

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling along the bond that connected him to the Potions Master. Once he had latched onto it, he willed himself there.

He emerged right about the struggling combatants.

The revenant never glanced around, too focused on killing Severus. But Snape saw Harry and choked out, "No . . . Harry . . . no . . .!"

Harry gritted his teeth. He quickly sketched a circle of runes on the gray dirt, surrounding the revenant and Severus as well. He charged the runes with power and named the revenant. "Let the magic of the circle and the magic of goodness and light recognize Severus Snape as friend, not foe. Let the magic of the runes destroy the one who calls himself Voldemort and those who ally themselves with him."

The runes activated.

Immediately, the revenant/Voldemort began to writhe and yell, but it never removed its hands from Severus' neck.

Harry almost screamed in despair. He could see the blue and green aura that belonged to Severus flickering out like a guttered candle. He could not let Severus die! It was flowing upwards into the revenant and suffusing it with power.

Suddenly Harry remembered something Skullduggery had once said about the astral plane. _In the Place Between Worlds, the imagination is a potent weapon. You can do anything you can dream. _

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated.

Severus vanished from beneath the revenant's fingers, transported off to the side.

The revenant hissed in shock and looked up . . .

. . . to see a glowing boy holding a flaming spear in his hand.

"You _dare_?!"

"Time to die, you bloody bastard! This is for my parents and Severus!" Harry drew back his hand and let the spear fly.

It impaled the revenant right through the heart, pinning it to the earth.

It let out a terrible scream but it could not free itself from the spear, which was forged in fire, death, and vengeance. Gouts of liquid energy erupted from its mouth. "NO! I cannot die! I . . . am . . . immortal!"

"Not here you aren't!" Skullduggery cawed loudly. "Here you are as vulnerable as any that wears flesh."

"You lie!"

"Not this time, you poor deluded asshole!" Skullduggery sniggered. "In the Land of the Spirits, the Child of Imagination is king. His power is absolute! _Bran-_boy, let's finish this!"

Suddenly the raven grew to an immense size, as big as a giant roc, and cawed, "Hit'em hard, Harry! Don't hold back!"

Then the raven dived down upon the helpless spirit, talons extended.

At the same moment, Harry put both fists together and sent a bolt of wizard's fire towards the revenant, the sum total of the combined strength of his magic and the Codex.

The fire and Skull's talons struck the revenant at almost the same time.

The raven's talons ripped into the revenant's face, tearing a great hole in it before the bird vanished.

The fire struck a millisecond later.

The revenant went up like an oil soaked robe, wailing its defeat as the fire consumed it and sent what remained of its soul back through the Veil into an eternity of torment.

Harry remained where he was for a moment more, gasping for breath, feeling his strength drain out of him. He knew he had to get back to his body, but he did not move. Instead he turned and saw that Severus was gone, and Harry knew his guardian had gone back to his body.

And Voldemort, for somehow Harry had known it was he cohabiting the revenant's tattered remains, his nemesis, was no more. The revenant had been laid to rest by a power he knew not—the power of one boy's imagination, determination, and love.

Harry closed his eyes and slid down the silver glowing cord and back into his body, where he lay like one dead for two days, causing Molly and the rest of the Weasleys to have hysterics and transport him to St. Mungos.

**A/N: How's that for an epic battle? **


	35. A Heavy Toll

**35**

**A Heavy Toll**

The Healers at St. Mungos were baffled, befuddled, and bewildered by the case of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. From all of their scans and diagnostic spellcasting, Harry should be awake and perfectly fine. There were no discernible injuries to his body, no head trauma, and his magical core was intact. Yet he remained in a coma-like slumber, dead to the world figuratively. They had whole teams of Healers specializing in Spell Damage and Potions Accidents and Curses examine him and not one could understand why the boy was not sitting up and talking with his friends and eating ice cream cones. They had written on his chart—_Magical Malady Unknown—_and withdrew for a group consultation.

Molly, Ron, and Ginny remained in the room, sitting at Harry's bedside, just watching and praying for a miracle. Molly had sent a frantic letter off to Severus, but so far hadn't gotten a response back. She was fearful that something had happened to the Potions Master, something that had to do with the monster at the school, the monster that they were supposed to destroy. What if the unthinkable had happened and the monster had destroyed them instead?

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Hogwarts:_

Irma had been kept busy for the past two days, monitoring Severus and Lena, both of whom had almost been drained beyond recall by the revenant. Normally, a battle in the Place Between Worlds would not have much effect on a person's corporeal self, but the revenant was no ordinary opponent, and draining a wizard's magical core did have an effect upon one's body.

Dumbledore was also seriously depleted, exhausted, and aged by the revenant's attack. Poppy gave him Magic Replenishers, Dreamless Sleep, and some Restorative potion and kept him in bed for two days. She provided the same potions for Severus and Lena, and also showed Irma how to dose them with a straw for liquids and give them a few potions by injection. Irma knew that once their bodies were restored to full strength, they would awaken from their magical sleep.

Lena regained consciousness first, her eyelids fluttering open and her inquisitive gaze looking everywhere. She coughed slightly and whispered, "Aunt Irma?" upon catching sight of her relative.

"Lena! Oh, dear sweet Lady have mercy! You're awake at last." Irma came and clasped her niece's hand, she would have hugged her, but feared she was too weak to be squeezed as hard as Irma wanted to. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm . . . a little tired, but otherwise I feel fine. Where's Severus? Is he all right?"

"He's still asleep. But he's on the mend," Irma reassured her. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Both. How long have I been sleeping?"

"Two days, dear." Irma said, then she clapped her hands and a house elf appeared. "Please bring me a tray with ice water, orange juice, infuse chicken broth, and crackers, Honey. Thank you."

As the elf popped out, Lena attempted to sit up. To her chagrin, she was as weak as a baby bird and could barely sit up. Irma had to prop her up with pillows. "I'm so weak. Is that normal after Traveling like I did?"

"Yes and no. Most first time Travelers do get exhausted, but you also were drained by a revenant, so it's even more pronounced. It will be a few days until you are fully recovered. Do you remember what happened in the astral?"

Lena nodded. She told the elder librarian what had gone on, and how guilty she felt leaving Severus alone. "I didn't want to, Aunt Irma. But I could feel myself growing weaker and I knew I'd just be in the way, I couldn't fight anymore. But even so, I feel wretched, like I should have stayed and not run like a coward. I know it's foolish for me to feel like that, what I did was the only logical thing to do. Still, it felt as though I was abandoning him, even though he ordered me to leave."

"You shouldn't, Lena. Severus knows that in war, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. And he chose to be the sacrifice."

Remembering the battle made her cold to her very bones. And the fear that came with it made her shiver uncontrollably. She had been ill prepared to face the revenant, despite her hours of study. Nothing she had read had prepared her for the sheer cruelty, cunning, and power of the spirit. It had almost finished her.

The tray popped in, and Irma placed it across her knees, helping her sit straighter. As Lena began to eat, she asked softly, "Do you know if the revenant was killed?"

Irma nodded. "I believe so. Not long after Severus returned, I felt something shift on the astral. It was as though a great darkness had been lifted. I think it is gone."

Lena breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Severus must have destroyed it." She began to slowly sip her broth and added a cracker to it. Though weak, she was ravenously hungry.

"I expect so, or else none of us would be sitting here now," Irma said. She eyed her niece in concern. "Try and eat more slowly, dear. You don't want it to come right back up."

Lena did as she was told, recognizing the wisdom in her aunt's words. She looked over at Severus while she ate, noting that he looked rather pale, more than usual, and that Skull was absent from his beside. Fearing the worst, she asked about the raven. "Aunt, where is Skullduggery?"

"Oh, he's out and about, you know that rascal. He needs to fly, he can't stay cooped up in one room forever, even if his master is injured. He'll be back soon, he never stays away for long." Irma chuckled.

"How is the Headmaster? I remember you coming to warn us, is he recovered too?"

"He is, as much as he can ever be from such an attack." Irma said gravely.

"What do you mean?"

"The revenant drained him to near death. That has an effect upon the body, Lena, especially in one so old as he is. Poppy hasn't admitted it yet, but I know from my studies that an attack like that can cause one to prematurely age. Albus has probably aged at least ten years, though it's hard to tell by looking at him."

Lena looked horrified. "You mean . . . he has lost years of his life?"

"Yes. Very probably."

"But . . . why haven't I? Or Severus?"

"For one thing, you are younger. For another, the damage you sustained was mostly to your spirit, not your physical body. That is the price you pay for battling one of the most powerful undead that ever walked. Fighting a revenant bears a heavy toll, no matter how powerful you are magically."

Lena nodded sadly. They had all known when they agreed to take on the revenant that the cost might be high. All of them were lucky to still be breathing. "Well, at least there's one good thing. None of the children were harmed by it because we got them all out in time."

As if to refute that statement, Severus cried out, "No! Not Harry!"

The two women jumped at the anguished cry.

Lena nearly spilled her broth all over herself. "Severus! Is he dreaming?"

Irma ran over to his bedside, he was thrashing about, his normally calm visage twisted in pain. She laid a hand on his shoulder and shook it gently. "Severus, wake up! Old friend, you are dreaming. Harry is safe at the Weasleys, remember?"

Severus shook his head, grimacing like one under the Cruciatus Curse. "No . . . Harry was there . . . in the Place Between Worlds . . ." he groaned. Then his eyes snapped open and met Irma's with a fierce lucid intensity. "It wasn't a dream, Irma. He was _there_."

"All right, Sev, I believe you," she said soothingly, trying not to agitate him. "Was he just an observer then?"

Severus snorted. "Since when is that meddlesome child ever 'just an observer', Irma? This is Harry Potter you're talking about, remember? The boy who leaps off a cliff before checking that he has a broom beneath him. No, he went right for the revenant's throat. Granted, he managed to get me away from the bloody thing before it killed me, but he promised me to stay away and not get involved and suddenly there he was."

"Gracious Gaia! He tried to fight the revenant? Was he injured?"

"I don't know. The last I saw before I lost consciousness was him cast a runic circle about it and Skull . . . Skull was fighting alongside him. Where is that blasted raven anyhow? Usually he would be here, warbling some ridiculous lullaby in my ear."

Just then the raven tapped with his beak on the door.

Irma gestured, and the door to Snape's quarters swung open to admit the black bird. "Skull, your favorite person's awake."

"Really? Elvis rose from the dead?" the raven shrieked. "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!"

"Elvis?" Irma repeated. "No, it's Severus I'm talking about."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad he's back too. But I was sort of hoping . . ." the raven lamented. Then he flew down and perched on Severus' chest. "Sev! I'm so glad you're back! Thought you were going to sleep for a hundred years like Sleeping Beauty. Although in your case you'd have to be the Sleeping Prince and who would we find to give you the kiss of true love now that Lily's gone? Unless Miss Rosario would oblige?" the raven gave a wicked caw.

Lena blushed.

"Skullduggery!" Severus began, then he sighed, not up to his usual banter. "Do you know what happened with Harry? Is the revenant gone?"

Skull bobbed his head affirmatively. "Laid to rest forever. I helped Harry destroy the corrupt bugger. He's gone, like a bad dream upon waking. Harry killed him by using his head and his magic, including that he borrowed from the Codex. Then he went back to his body, or so I assume."

"I should have known. _The power he knows not,_" Severus quoted softly. "Skull, would you please go to the Burrow and see how he is?"

"On my way, Captain!" the raven croaked an affirmative and then waited for Irma to open the door before flying off.

"I suppose Harry must be all right, or else Molly would have owled me," Severus mused. "Unless . . . has anyone checked my mailbox lately?"

All the professors had a mailbox mounted on the wall beside their offices so owls could deliver messages if they couldn't reach the professor in question.

"Why, no. I had forgotten about that . . ." Irma declared, chagrined. She called a school elf and asked him to bring anything in Professor Snape's mailbox to him.

The elf returned with a pile of mail and set it atop Snape's lap.

To his chagrin, he found he was too weak to sit up without assistance, and Irma made sure he was propped up by pillows and had a tray like Lena's before sorting through his mail. Severus ate while he sorted through potion catalogs and advertisements, a student's request to do extra credit, another student's homework assignment, and finally a creamy parchment with Molly's return address on it.

Severus tore open the envelope and read the missive. He swore angrily, half under his breath.

"Bad news?" asked Lena softly.

"You could say that. When Molly couldn't wake him for two days, she brought him to St. Mungos, but the doctors there seem to be incompetent jackasses, because none of them know how to bring Harry out of the coma he's in."

"Severus, that's not so surprising," Irma told him. "Most Healers don't know about Traveling sickness, since that's a rare malady, and Traveling as a talent has been mostly forgotten. We only know of it due to our research as Society members."

Severus heaved a long sigh. "True. I need to go there and inform them how to take care of him. But I can barely move out of this bed!" He looked extremely put out.

"Don't worry, Severus. I shall write out instructions on how to care for him, and Skull can deliver them for me."Irma soothed. "By the time they have started the regimen, you should be well enough to be up and about. Harry might even be stuck between worlds, and that Skull can help with."

Severus nodded grudgingly. He detested being sick, unable to help his ward, but there was little he could do save try and get better as soon as possible. He sipped his broth and drank the juice Irma had provided.

While he was doing that, Irma was writing rapidly with quill and ink on parchment, giving instructions on how to bring Harry out of the coma he'd been in.

Skullduggery returned, dismayed to find the Burrow empty, but he regained his spirits when Severus told him about Molly's letter. "Ah, that explains it! Of course I shall bring Irma's instructions to those noddleheaded Healers. Humph! Don't go ballistic, Sev, he did save your life, even if he broke all your rules doing it. Though I can't blame you for wanting to roast his behind over a fire."

Severus set down his empty glass and said icily, "He knows the consequences of his actions."

Skull took Irma's letter and flew off to the hospital with it. He would remain there in case Harry was still wandering the astral and needed a guide to show him the way back.

Severus looked over at Lena and asked, "How are you feeling, Lena?"

She gave him a commiserating grin. "About the same as a wrung out dishrag. Like you."

Severus made a face and nodded in agreement. Even though he hated being sick, at least he had someone to talk to while convalescing. She kept him from doing something idiotic, like getting up too soon and trying to run down the hallway before he had regained his strength. He was still terribly worried over Harry, but he was able to keep his emotions under wraps for now. But when he got his hands on that boy . . .

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_St. Mungos:_

After receiving the instructions on how to care for Harry, a Traveler, in his current state, the Healers set to with a vengeance. They made certain he received certain potions and fed him broths infused with vitamin and minerals and a few other ingredients to maintain vitality and energy. They had specialized therapeutic Healers work with the sleeping boy, exercising his limbs instead of letting him just lie there like a limp doll that was no longer played with. The whole regimen was designed to stimulate Harry, and coax his spirit into waking up, now that his body was no longer exhausted.

Skullduggery monitored carefully what was going on, and noted that the boy's mental state was still in hibernation. Now the raven was no mind magus, but he was very intuitive, and he knew well Harry's penchant for guilt tripping himself when something went wrong. Though Harry had saved Severus in the Place Between Worlds, there was a part of himself that also blamed himself for not arriving sooner, before Severus had gotten hurt, a part that was fearful that Severus was dead. And thus Harry did what he always did when faced with guilt, he hid himself from it.

Skull knew this, and he set out to convince the boy to wake and face the consequences of his impulsive decision. He slipped into the astral, which Harry was still connected to, and quietly talked to the boy huddled in a shadowy corner of his own mind.

"Harry, it's time for you to come out. There is no need to hide anymore, you are safe and Severus is too. You saved all of us, _bran-_boy. The revenant is no more. Now come out, fledgling, and see the new world this has wrought. Come, Harry, and follow me home. Someone who loves you very much is waiting for you."

The boy lifted his head from his knees and looked at the raven. He did not speak, but arched an eyebrow in question, mimicking another wizard Skull knew well.

The raven cocked his head and cawed an affirmative. "Come and find out then."

Skullduggery swooped low and hovered in front of the boy, allowing him to grasp his shoulders and then the raven flew with his clinging passenger out of the shadows and into the light, back to awareness.

The eleven-year-old in the bed stirred, slowly moving an arm, a hand, a foot. The man in black beside the bed suddenly jerked upright, he had nodded off waiting for Harry to awaken. Despite Skull bringing Harry's conscious mind back to awareness, it had taken the better part of an hour to awaken fully, giving Severus time to dress and Floo over to the hospital. Though mostly recovered, Severus had discovered he had an annoying tendency to nod off when remaining still for more than fifteen minutes. He hoped that wretched side effect would disappear as he grew stronger.

Awake now, he studied his ward intently, a sigh of relief escaping his taut lips as he saw Harry begin to move. He waited with bated breath and was rewarded with Harry's eyes fluttering and then opening. The green eyes fixed on him and recognition flared in their depths.

Severus waited as Harry became fully awake, and the boy opened his mouth to speak . . . but started coughing instead for his throat was dry.

Severus gently slipped an arm about the boy's shoulders and sat him up, patting his back until the fit had subsided. "Easy now, son."

"Look, Mum! He's awake!" came Ron's voice from the opposite side of the room.

"I know, dear. Now hush!" Molly shushed her son, a smile beaming across her face. She was so relieved she was almost in tears.

But the two major players in this little drama hardly noticed their audience, they had eyes only for each other.

Harry quit coughing and drank sips of cool water from the glass Severus held to his lips. The water moistened his dry throat and finally he spoke. "Uncle Sev! It's really you!"

"Yes, Harry. I'm right here, waiting for you to wake up."

Severus could hardly contain the vast feelings of relief and joy that swept through him. His ward—no, his _son_—was finally awake! And seemingly unharmed by his ordeal. Not being able to find words to describe how grateful he felt, Severus instead wrapped Harry in a tight hug, nearly pulling the boy from the bed.

Harry's arms wound themselves about his guardian and he hugged Severus back. It felt so good to be held, to know that he was wanted, was loved. He buried his face in the familiar soft robes and basked in the joy of it.

The two remained that way for a long time.

Until Severus' normal self-control reasserted itself, after his initial assessment that yes, Harry was fine, if a bit weary. Out of danger, certainly, and therefore well enough for Severus to express his displeasure over Harry risking his life yet again.

Thunderclouds gathered in the black eyes, as the Potions Master allowed his anger to ride his features. He drew away from the boy, he could hardly scold while hugging, and said in an ominously silky tone, "Harry James Potter, what in hell were you _thinking_?"

Harry gulped. "Thinking, sir?"

"Or _not_ thinking, as the case may be. Did we not have a discussion before you left school about staying out of trouble and letting me handle the revenant? Did you not promise me you would? Or was that merely a figment of my imagination?"

"No, sir, but . . . I had to come! You were in trouble . . . the Codex said so!"

"You break your word for a book?" Severus growled.

"No . . . for you. You were dying! It was _killing_ you!" Harry shouted.

Across the room, Ron went pale as milk. Was Harry suicidal . . . _shouting _at Snape? Did he not know the rules? That when you were in trouble you never shouted at your guardian, you shut up and said things like _yessir, nosir, _and_ I'm sorry_? That way said guardian wasn't tempted to chop you up and add you to his cauldron. Or flay the hide off you.

"Mind your tone, young man. I have told you before and I shall tell you again, you are not the savior of the whole bloody world. I sent you away to keep you safe, and yet I find you risking your neck again! When will you learn to do as you're told?"

"When you're not dying," Harry replied flippantly.

Severus glared at him. He counted to ten rapidly. "I'm going to overlook that remark because I know that even you couldn't be foolish enough to be cheeky with me when you're already in trouble up to your neck."

"I'm in trouble for saving your life?" Harry protested.

"No, you're in trouble for breaking your promise to me," Severus corrected firmly. "I nearly lost you . . . again. My heart nearly stopped when I looked up and saw you there. Everything I had done, and still it wasn't enough to keep you safe, and I was too weak to protect you. That was what mattered most, not killing the bloody revenant, but _you_. Do you not understand that, after all this time?"

He set his hands on Harry's shoulders and shook him sharply for emphasis.

Ron started to rise from his chair, thinking to distract Snape and prevent him from murdering Harry, but Molly grabbed him and pushed him down. "Ronald, dear, don't interfere. This is between Professor Snape and Harry."

"But Mum! He's going to _kill_ Harry!"

"Nonsense, dear. Have _I _ever killed _you_ over making stupid mistakes and risking your neck?"

"Well, no. But . . ."

"Trust Professor Snape, Ron. He will give Harry what he deserves, no more and no less. Now come along, let's give them some privacy." She led Ron away. She was almost positive that Harry was going to end up over his guardian's knees, and he didn't need an audience for that!

Tears welled in Harry's eyes and he said, "I could feel something was wrong and I couldn't just ignore it. Not after everything we'd been through. I just _couldn't_. I'm sorry for breaking my promise, I'm sorry for scaring you to death, but I'm _not_ sorry I saved your life. Because that's what you do when you love somebody—you look out for them. _You_ taught me that." Half-defiantly, he looked his guardian in the eye, and waited for the explosion.

It never came.

Instead the Potion Master's arms pulled his son into another hug and he murmured, "Harry, what am I going to do with you? You're going to kill me before I'm forty."

Harry pressed his face against Snape's shoulder. "No, I won't. Because you're too stubborn to die. Like me." He sniffled sharply. "Forgive me?"

"Always, son."

Harry felt tears streak his face. He had feared Severus would never forgive him. But now he could lay that fear to rest. He swallowed hard. "Umm . . . so how much trouble am I in?"

"You're going to be scrubbing cauldrons and toilets for me for the rest of the term. I ought to ground you till you're twenty. And paddle your backside till you can't sit for a week."

Harry stiffened, sensing he was on dangerous ground. "Yes, Uncle Sev."

"However, you did save my life, so this is all you're going to get." He turned the boy sideways and smacked his bottom hard. "One." Another smack followed. "Two." Harry whimpered. Then another. "Three." He added one more, slightly harder than the last. "Four, for remembrance." It was finished. He turned his son around and hugged him. "I love you, now try and behave."

Harry clung to him and cried, but only a little. Because boys who defeated revenants didn't cry over a spanking, no matter how much it stung. Or if they did, it was only for awhile. He felt a hand carding his hair and he smiled through his tears. Everything was going to be all right.

Severus rubbed Harry's back, easing the sting in his hand as well as comforting his child. _Next time, if there is a next time,_ he thought sourly, _I'm using the paddle._ Then he snorted silently to himself. What he had just done was all he could bring himself to do where Harry was concerned. And he was sure there would be a next time, given the fact that though the master was gone, the followers remained, and like a hydra, cutting off the main head did not guarantee the threat was over. They would be crying out for vengeance, but Severus would see that they were thwarted. Forever.

Harry spent several more days on bed rest before being released from the hospital. By then he was going crazy and about to climb the walls. The Healers were being extra cautious, or maybe that was due to his father glaring at them whenever they came and examined Harry. Either way, Harry was ready to dance a jig when they told him he could go home.

"When will the school reopen?" he asked Severus.

"When the Headmaster deems himself fit to run it again. Perhaps a couple of days from now."

Harry nodded. He could understand that. Dumbledore had been hurt terribly by the revenant and it took awhile to recover. He was still a bit shaky and tired himself. But the school was safe once more.

He had thanked Molly for having him over and apologized for giving her such a fright. But Molly had just hugged him and said she was glad he would be all right and he should never risk his neck like that again. Ron would be returning when the rest of the students did, but Harry would be going back now, with Severus. That suited him just fine, for he feared he would have nightmares and Severus was the best one to help him deal with those.

As he walked with Severus to the hospital's Floo Network, Harry felt as if he could finally breathe again. Voldemort was dead and everything would be back to normal soon. Wouldn't it?

Skull perched upon Harry's shoulder, singing, "We Are the Champions." Harry snickered at some of the looks they were getting. Skull took some getting used to. Harry caressed the rowdy bird and shook off the strange depression that gripped him. Everything was going to be fine, he reassured himself. Yet there was a little corner of his mind that doubted, just a little.

**A/N: Yes, there is more to come, hope you all enjoyed this one!**


	36. In the Wee Small Hours

**36**

**In the Wee Small Hours**

Three days later, despite a somewhat lapsed memory and general exhaustion, Albus re-opened the school. He did not want to delay the students' return anymore than necessary, and risk them forgetting most of what they had learnt; he also didn't like to admit he wasn't back to his old self. Poppy had warned him about overstressing himself, but he cheerfully ignored her warning. He would rest on the summer holiday, and though his lapses of memory were distressing, he made sure one of his house elves was on hand to remind him of important meetings and dates, such as with the Minister and the Board of Governors. That way his condition would go unnoticed.

Or so it seemed.

In reality, Poppy and Severus had a conspiracy going to make sure Albus recovered, and they informed Minerva, Pomona, and Filius the first day back in an impromptu staff meeting what had happened to the Headmaster. Minerva ordered Winken, Albus' house elf, to give her a copy of his schedule, which the elf happily did, since she was his Deputy. Minerva made a few changes to it, shortening the meeting times and scheduling more breaks for her now aged employer, then she sent it off to the Ministry. She then threw out the original and replaced it with the adjusted copy.

Severus stole Dumbledore's dish of lemon drops, while the Headmaster was in a luncheon with Fudge, and sprinkled a Memory Clarifying Potion on them, coating them thoroughly. He knew the taste might be altered, but better that than a befuddled Headmaster. He then sneakily replaced them. To his surprise, Dumbledore remarked at dinner that night that his sweets must have been improved on since the last batch, because they tasted so much better.

Pomona sent Albus a lavender plant to keep in his office, as the scent of it relaxed and soothed and encouraged one to sleep with good dreams. One of the side effects of being drained almost to death was insomnia and nightmares.

Filius gave him a charmed clock which would remind him of certain events ahead of time, so he was never late for meetings and so forth.

Poppy made up several batches of Nutrient Energy drafts and mixed them into a sugar-free soft drink which she gave him at dinner rather than his usual pumpkin juice, in a sly attempt to get him to take better care of his health.

Harry was glad to have his friends back and had already made a decision to downplay his role in the defeat of Voldemort as much as possible, he was tired of being famous, let the adults take most of the credit this time. But he had forgotten to inform Ron of that little detail, with the end result that within a day of returning most of the school knew he had done something to help destroy the revenant and save his professors' lives.

"Why did you have to tell everyone?" he snapped at Ron over breakfast the next day. "You could have just kept your mouth shut, Ron! I don't want to be in the bloody papers again!"

"Hey, mate, how was I supposed to know you didn't want people to know?" Ron replied.

"By using your bloody brain!" Harry growled. He was so upset he didn't even finish breakfast, just stormed out of the hall and down to the dungeons. His first period class was potions that day and he figured no one would be in the classroom yet, giving him some time to calm down. He threw open the door so hard it banged against the wall, bringing Severus from his office.

"Is there a reason you're slamming my classroom door, Mr. Potter?" he demanded icily.

"Ron's an idiot," Harry replied angrily.

Severus arched an eyebrow. "While that may be true, that's no excuse for indulging yourself in a temper tantrum and breaking my door down." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Would you rather I broke his head?" asked Harry testily.

"I would rather you sit down and think about acting more like the smart boy you are than a spoiled child," said his guardian sharply.

Harry flushed and slumped into his seat. "Sorry. It's just . . . sometimes he makes me so mad I want to smack him upside the head and knock some sense into him."

"His mother already tried that," Severus remarked dryly. "It didn't take too well."

Harry's mouth twitched slightly in a half-smile. "Tell me about it."

Severus came and half-sat on a corner of his desk, eyeing Harry. "What did Ronald do to make you angry?"

"He told everyone how I helped destroy the Voldemort revenant. I didn't want anyone to know about it because I'm tired of being the hero of the wizarding world. But now it's too late because he told Dean and Seamus and now my whole house knows and soon the whole school will know because they'll brag about it."

"Harry, you wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret for too much longer. The other Weasleys knew about it also, as does the Headmaster, and Albus would see no reason not to tell everyone about another victory over the Dark Lord thanks to you."

"But it wasn't just me. You and Lena helped fight it too," Harry objected.

"True, but it was your magic that finished it off," Severus pointed out. "In any case, the cat's out of the bag, so you might as well stop stamping about and glowering, it won't help anything."

"Is that what you tell yourself when you're in a mood?"

"Don't get cheeky with me, brat," Severus warned, giving his son a quick smack to the back of his head.

"Ow!" Harry rubbed the back of his head. "It was just an observation."

"Right," Severus snorted. "Don't try and play innocent with me, Harry James. I have Skull for a familiar, remember?"

Harry sulked a bit, until Severus handed him a pile of second-year homework and told him to sort it into House groups, making it easier to grade. By the time he was done, it was almost time for class and Harry's temper had simmered down a bit, enough so he wouldn't pick a fight with Ron during class.

Mindful of the tension between the two, Snape partnered Harry with Draco that period and Ron with Hermione, so there were no mishaps.

Harry grudgingly admitted Severus was right and forgave his blabbermouth friend. He went to bed that night in Gryffindor Tower, and had a strange dream where he was walking on air and splashing in the gutters on the roof of the Astronomy Tower. It was such an odd dream that he actually remembered it. But when he went to get changed and put on his trainers, he found the bottom cuffs of his pajamas all wet and muddy and no idea how they'd gotten that way.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

The next night, after studying with Hermione and Neville for his Herbology final, Harry fell asleep as soon as he lay down on his bed. he was tired from his day of classes and also scrubbing the boys' loo in the dungeon, as per his punishment. Severus had him cleaning every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

At around three AM, Ron was woken up by a sudden draft blowing on him, since his bed was closest to the window. He hadn't closed his bed hangings, because it had been stuffy inside the dorm room; now it was freezing and he heard an odd thump, as if something had fallen. He sat up and wondered who had left the window open, but then he saw what he thought was Harry climbing into the window.

Shaking his head to clear it, he forced himself out of bed and ran to the window to shut it. When he looked around again, he saw that all his dorm mates, including Harry, were sound asleep.

_Must have been dreaming,_ he thought, yawning hugely. _What in Merlin's name would Harry be doing climbing in and out of windows in the middle of the night?_ He jumped back in bed, tugged the hangings closed, snuggled under the covers and fell back to sleep.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Two nights later, Harry dreamed he was climbing a tree, specifically a tall oak tree that grew near the base of Gryffindor Tower, it was very old and nearly a hundred feet tall, its branches nearly touched the arch that spanned Gryffindor Tower and the castle. He didn't know why he was climbing it, but he knew he couldn't stop, or else the unnamed faceless monster that was after him would get him. So he kept climbing and climbing, scraping his hands bloody on the rough bark, until he could go no further, and clutched the branches for dear life, twigs and leaves tangling in his hair . . .

He woke with a gasp, his heart pounding as if he had run up all seven flights of stairs. He slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom, his bladder urgently telling him it needed the toilet now. Once he had relieved himself, he went to wash his hands, and discovered his palms were covered in scratches, they stung when he washed with soap.

Harry stared down at them, letting the water run over them, ignoring the stinging. _My hands . . . they're all scratched up, like in my dream._ He couldn't understand it. He gently dried them and smoothed on some Quick Healing Salve from the medicine cabinet. As he did that, he noticed something was caught in his hair. Reaching up, he picked out several small twigs and leaves, like those from an oak tree.

_Leaves in my hair too. What's going on?_ It unnerved him so much that he decided to pretend nothing had happened. After all, who ever heard of something in a dream occurring in real life? It had to be a coincidence. Maybe he had scratched himself in his sleep? He had heard of people doing that in their sleep. As for the twigs and leaves, maybe that had been a practical joke from the twins? They always teased him about his hair looking like a bird's nest. Yes, that was it. A stupid joke.

Heaving a sigh, he padded back to his bed and slept soundly until Ron shook his shoulder for breakfast.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Snape's office_

_The same morning:_

Severus rubbed his eyes, which stung and ached, he turned and took a small vial from his personal potions cabinet behind him and shook it twice. Then he opened a small drawer in his desk and pulled a medicine dropper out of his first aid kit. Sometimes potions fumes could affect a student's eyes, and he always kept some of his Eye Clearing Draft on hand just in case. He filled the dropper and placed two drops of the soothing potion in each eye. The stinging and burning vanished on contact. He blinked in relief, though he knew that was only a temporary solution. He was overtired, and plagued by insomnia, he had been ever since the battle with the revenant.

"Something wrong with your peepers, Sev?" Skull asked, eyeing his master worriedly.

"I'm fine now. Lack of sleep and too many hours grading homework," replied the Potions Master.

"Ah. Dreamless Sleep for you tonight, Snape," the raven squawked, sounding rather like Molly Weasley.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother," he mocked softly. "As if I needed you to tell me that."

His insomnia was taking its toll, he had to resort to a Stimulant Draft once a day to keep awake through the afternoon, and he hated taking those, as they made him extremely jittery and hyper. But they also kept him from dozing off during class and so he decided it was the lesser of two evils.

He walked into dungeon #2 and magically wrote the ingredients for the potion his fifth year class would be brewing on the board. It was not a particularly hard potion, if they concentrated, it could be brewed in under an hour and a half. He placed the stack of homework on his desk to one side and started reading the essays he'd assigned his first years on the properties and usage of snake fangs in potions.

Lately he was feeling very rundown and exhausted. He resolved to go to bed earlier, an extra hour of sleep might make all the difference.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

That night, Harry met Draco, Neville, Ron, and Hermione in the library to study Defense. Since Quirrell's demise, each of the professors were filling for him, taking a week at a time. This week it had been Flitwick's turn, and he had them doing mock duels and studying various countercharms.

"How come we're not meeting in Snape's quarters?" asked Ron.

"He wanted to go to sleep early," Harry told him. "Told me to come study here."

"What should we focus on first?" Draco asked, pulling out his notes. "Dueling or countercharms?"

"Let's do the countercharms. If we try to duel each other in here, Madam Pince or Lena will throw us out on our ears," Hermione said sensibly.

They all opened their texts to the chapter on countercharms and began to study. Then they quizzed each other.

Madam Pince came by, making sure they were studying and not doing something else, like snogging or drawing naughty pictures on the margins of the library books. "Studying hard, children?" she asked softly.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied. "We're studying for our DADA final."

"That's good. Defense was never my specialty." She peered at their notes. "Filius's teaching this week?"

"Yes. He had us dueling and learning countercharms."

"Typical, since he's also a dueling master."

"Madam Pince, where's Lena?" Harry asked then. "Is she off tonight?"

"Yes, she is resting. She asked for all day shifts, as she is trying to get extra sleep. Ever since the battle, she feels tired and tends to sleep more."

"Oh. Sounds like Uncle Sev. He's tired too."

"I'm not surprised. He teaches one of the toughest subjects in the school, and he's a workaholic. Well, carry on then, and remember, the library closes at nine thirty." She swept past them, her heels tapping on the carpet.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Gryffindor Tower_

_3AM:_

Ron woke to the sound of the window being opened. The sound was unmistakable, since the window hinge was rusted and squeaked. He quickly lit up his wand and jumped out of bed, wanting to see who was opening the window at this time of night. To his surprise, he saw Harry silhouetted in the moonlight, standing and staring out the window.

"Psst! Harry! What's wrong, can't sleep?" Ron hissed.

To his surprise, Harry ignored him.

As Ron watched, mouth gaping, Harry threw a leg over the sill and stepped out upon the narrow ledge that ran around the tower.

"Harry!" he gasped. "What're you doing?!"

The ledge was a mere three to four feet wide and one misstep and Harry would be a splotch on the ground.

Ron ran to the window and looked out. Harry was walking calmly upon the ledge as if it were the path down to the greenhouse, not even concerned with how high up he was. Ron was horrified. "Harry! Get back in here before you fall. You wanna kill yourself?"

But Harry didn't hear him. He continued walking until he reached the end of the ledge that ran across the tower, made a sharp right and continued walking across the archway. When he reached the huge old oak, he began to climb down it.

Ron caught a glimpse of his friend's face in the moonlight. It was pale and his eyes were open, but they looked right through Ron like he was a ghost. Frightened, Ron turned and woke Neville.

"Huh?" Neville groaned sleepily as Ron shone his wand in his face. "Is it morning yet, Ron?"

"Uh, yeah, but really early. Get up, you have to see this!"

"Can't it wait? I'm really tired."

"No, now come on!" Ron half-dragged Neville from the bed. "You got to see this. It's Harry."

"Is he sick?"

"No, he's sleepwalking." Ron pulled Neville over to the window. "He just climbed out the window and walked across the ledge and climbed down the tree!"

Neville's eyes widened. "Why?"

"I dunno."

Together the two friends watched as Harry reached the ground and began running across the lawn in the moonlight.

"Where's he going?" whispered Neville.

Ron shrugged, he had no clue.

About five minutes later, Harry returned, and they watched, frozen, as he made his way back up the tree and walked across the ledge.

Ron and Neville stepped back from the window, giving Harry room to climb back in the window.

As they did so, they noticed Harry's feet were wet with dew and grass stains and his hands were slightly dirty, as if he'd been digging in the dirt. But he looked right through them with that same blank stare.

"Harry, wake up!" Ron went to shake him, but Neville stopped him.

"Don't! You're not supposed to wake a sleepwalker."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It's what my gran always said."

They watched as Harry made his way back to his bed, climbed in and went to sleep. When they tiptoed over, he was snoring slightly.

"Merlin's pants!" Ron exclaimed. "That was the weirdest thing I ever saw. But at least he's back in bed now." He shuddered to think of what might have happened if Harry had slipped. He went to shut the window.

But it was a long time before he fell asleep.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Once again, Harry woke up slightly muzzy headed and with grass stains on his feet and his palms dirty. He couldn't remember anything about last night, certainly not running outside in his bare feet through the grass. He began to grow alarmed and wondered if he should tell someone, like Snape, about these strange happenings. They made no sense, though. And Harry didn't want to be a worry wart. It wasn't like these events were life threatening, just odd. He washed his feet and hands off in the loo and dressed.

When he came down to breakfast, he noticed Ron and Neville eying him strangely. He looked back at them and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that, guys? Is my tie backwards? My robe inside out?"

"N-No, Harry, it's not that," Neville stammered awkwardly.

"Then what is it?"

"It's . . . we'll tell you later," Ron said, not wanting to discuss something so private in front of everyone in their House and risk Harry's wrath again.

Harry slid onto the bench next to Ron and began eating. Once he was finished, Ron and Neville dragged him out of the hall and into the unused classroom beside it. "All right. Now tell me what's wrong."

"Last night I woke up and saw you standing at the open window in our dorm . . ." Ron began. He told Harry everything he and Neville had witnessed.

"I . . . sleepwalk?" Harry repeated. "But I've never done that before. Was this . . . the only time you saw me?"

Ron hesitated. He recalled the other night, when he had woken up to find the window open. "Well, there was one other time . . . I thought I saw you climbing back in the window, but I could have been dreaming."

"It was really creepy, Harry," Neville put in. "You just walked out on the ledge like it was nothing."

"And climbed down the oak tree."

Harry shook his head. That would explain his scratched hands and the twigs in his hair. Also the grass stains. "I don't understand why this is happening."

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey. Or Professor Snape," Neville suggested.

"No! I can't . . . they'll think I'm a headcase. Maybe it'll stop now that I know I'm doing it." Harry said. "Don't tell anyone, please!"

"But Harry, you could kill yourself accidentally!" Ron whispered.

Harry sighed. "All right. If it happens again, you can tell McGonagall. But not before. Got me?"

Slowly the two boys nodded.

Harry brushed his hair back from his face and said, "Let's get to class." As they walked, Harry prayed the sleepwalking would stop. He didn't want to be labeled a disturbed child on top of everything else.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Two days went by and Harry thought he had conquered his sleepwalking tendency. Until the third night. The clock in the Entrance Hall chimed two AM, and like clockwork, Harry rose from his bed and went to the window.

This night it was Neville's turn on Harry watch, and as soon as he saw Harry rise and go for the casement, Neville popped out of bed and went running out of his dorm and down the side passage to McGonagall's quarters.

The Head of Gryffindor had handled many things in her time, but never had she dealt with a child who sleepwalked on a ledge over fifty feet above the ground. She ordered Neville to keep watch, then went back and Flooed Severus, who happened to be awake due to another bout of insomnia.

Severus had to stop taking the Dreamless Sleep, because too much would addict you, thus he was still awake in the wee small hours of the morning.

"Severus! You need to come quickly to the tower. Harry needs you." Minerva firecalled him.

"What's happened?"

"It's better if you see for yourself."

Severus threw down Floo Powder and stepped through into McGonagall's quarters. "Where is he?"

"In the first year dormitory, but try and be quiet, the others are sleeping."

Severus ground his teeth together, not caring about waking the others when his son was in trouble.

But when he entered the first year dorm, he saw nothing out of the ordinary save Longbottom standing at the casement, looking out the window. There was no sign of Harry. "Longbottom, why are you standing next to that window? You'll catch cold, now go back to bed. Where's Harry?"

"He's . . . out there, sir," Neville lifted a trembling finger and pointed.

"What do you mean, he's out there? It's the middle of the night. Don't be ridi—" he never finished his sentence because just then he caught sight of Harry dancing across the parapet and shinnying down the oak tree like a two-legged squirrel. "Dear God! Is he insane?"

"Sir, he's sleepwalking," Neville told him.

"Sleepwalking? When did this start?" Severus could still feel his heart racing even though Harry was now on the ground.

"Uh . . well first I knew of it was three nights ago . . ."

While Severus listened to Neville, he summoned Skull through the bond and asked him to trail Harry and make sure he returned safely.

The familiar was only too happy to do so and followed the boy like a shadow from night's tomb, unseen and unheard.

The raven observed that Harry seemed to know exactly where he was going, he never hesitated, despite the darkness of the night and the fact that he was very nearly blind in the dark, even with his glasses. It was as if some sixth sense was guiding him. Skull felt an odd vibration from the boy, almost as if he were calling upon his Traveling skill.

The raven popped over into the Place Between Worlds and saw to his dismay that Harry's astral self was indeed guiding his sleeping body. He would have been astonished at the boy's aptitude, save for the fact that what Harry was doing was deadly dangerous. In his dream state, he could make sure no harm came to his body, but his spirit self was at risk for any predator—like a Spirit Devourer—who felt him and wanted to grab a quick bite. For all his nascent ability, Harry was still a neophyte Traveler, and vulnerable to the evil creatures that roamed the Gray Road.

"_Bran-boy_, go back!" the raven ordered sharply. "You're Dreaming, now go back. You shouldn't be roaming here on your own, fledgling, it's too dangerous. Go back, Harry! Go back!"

Spirit Harry glanced up at the raven. "Skull?"

"Yes, Harry. You need to go back into your body."

"My . . . my body? Where am I?"

"You are in the Place Between Worlds, in a dreaming state. You need to return to your body."

Harry glanced down, and saw himself glowing with energy and a silver cord stretching off into mist. Then at the same time, he saw his body, as if through a veil, walking the grounds. "I will, but . . . not yet . . ." He began to guide his sleeping body back the way it had come, as he had done for many nights.

Skull followed, using his own magical Sight to see what Harry was doing. Skull crossed over and appeared in midair just as Harry climbed back into the window and collapsed into Severus' arms.

Harry's eyes opened and he saw Severus' face, drawn tight with concern, and he gave a sort of half-smile. "Uncle Sev . . ." he whispered. Then he felt his stomach heave, as his astral self was disorientated, returning to his body too quickly. " . . .think I'm gonna be sick . . ."

McGonagall Transfigured a sock into a basin in the nick of time.

Severus held the boy over the basin while he vomited, emptying his stomach of everything he'd eaten that evening while studying.

Harry moaned softly, he hated being sick, and he was so embarrassed to be puking in front of Severus and Minerva like some baby, but he couldn't seem to stop. His nose burned and his mouth tasted like a rubbish bin, but every time he moved his head a little the vertigo returned and he threw up.

"Don't fight it, son," Severus murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "That'll make it hurt more. Just let it come out."

"Hate this . . ." Harry groaned, his stomach spasming. "Dizzy . . ."

"Severus, what's wrong with him?" asked Minerva, alarmed. "Is it a virus? Something he ate?"

"Neither, Queen of Cats," Skull answered, perching on the sill. "He entered his body too quickly and his spirit is disorientated. He's dizzy and that's making him toss up his toenails."

"He was Traveling?" Severus whispered. "Are you certain?"

"'Course I am!" Skull hissed indignantly.

Harry continued to heave until there was nothing left for him to vomit. He shut his eyes. "Ugh! Water, please." He leaned his head back against Snape's chest. His throat was killing him and so was his stomach, from vomiting so hard.

"Relax, child," Severus's hand was soothing on his brow. "Minerva, do you have a Vertigo Reliever here? I seem to remember you used to get migraines."

"That I did, Severus. Let me fetch it."

"That and a Stomach Calming potion as well if you have one."

Minerva departed to get the potions, and it was then Harry said, "Don't know if I can keep them down."

"If you can't, I can give you an injection," Severus said matter-of-factly.

Harry gave a slight shake of his head. "No! I hate those shots, they hurt!"

"Would you prefer a minute of pain or puking your guts up all night?"

"I'll swallow them," Harry whimpered. He would force himself to, because he didn't want to be hurting any place else.

Severus guided Harry to his bed and sat him on it, letting him lean on his shoulder. He conjured a glass of water so Harry could rinse his mouth and sip it slowly.

Neville had retreated to his own bed, not wanting to see poor Harry so ill, and he huddled just behind the curtains, peering out to see Severus sitting on Harry's bed with him by the light of Snape's wand. Neeville smiled wistfully, wishing he had a father to hold him that way when he was sick. But he never had and there was no point in wishing for the moon. He didn't quite understand the whole conversation between the two teachers and Skull, but he knew Harry was in good hands with the professors, so he turned over and tried to get some sleep. Soon he was snoring.

McGonagall returned with the potions. Harry sipped the Stomach Calming one first. When it stayed down, he drank the Vertigo one slowly, alternating between them until both were empty.

"How do you feel, lad?" asked Minerva kindly.

"Better. I'm sorry . . ." Harry blushed.

"For what? You have no need to apologize," Minerva said. She banished the basin with a wave of her wand.

"Minerva, I think I'm going to take him down to my quarters for the rest of the night," Severus said firmly. "Given what just occurred . . ."

"You're his guardian, Severus, you do as you see fit. It's better if he's with you, there are no windows for him to climb out of," the Transfiguration professor agreed.

Severus looked down at the small dark head lolling on his shoulder. "Harry, can you walk? Or shall I carry you? I don't want to Floo with you, you might get dizzy again."

"Tired, Uncle Sev . . ."

"There's my answer," muttered the teacher, and he picked up Harry, who was very light for his age, even after eating regular meals, and exited the dormitory. "Good night, Minerva."

"Good night, Severus. Pleasant dreams, I hope."

Severus heaved a sigh and made his way down the stairs, Harry half-asleep in his arms.

He reached his quarters and put Harry in his bed. Harry woke sleepily. "Huh? Where . . .?"

"Hush. Go to sleep. You're safe in your room in the dungeons. Sleep, Harry. We'll discuss what happened in the morning."

Harry fell asleep then, worn out. Severus gazed at him, apprehension flitting across his features. "Why didn't he tell me, Skull?" he asked the raven. His tone was a mixture of hurt and exasperation.

"Perhaps he didn't know what was going on," the bird clicked his beak softly. "When I found him in the astral, he was disorientated. It was as if he didn't know where he was or how he got there."

"You mean, he Traveled subconsciously?"

"Yes, Sev."

"But I thought that couldn't happen."

"Usually it can't. But Harry has never been ordinary. I think his power is out of control. And unless he learns how to master it . . . he could die. He's lucky a Spirit Devourer didn't find him before I did."

"Is there a way to . . . shut down his power?"

"Not that I know of. Most Travelers have a mentor to teach them how to control their gift, but the talent is so rare now that I don't know if there are any left in Britain."

"I shall have to consult Lena and Irma tomorrow. Perhaps they would know."

"Yes. You ought to get some sleep, Sev. You're about done in."

"You're not my mother, Skullduggery. I don't need a nursemaid."

"No, you need a keeper," the raven shot back. "Otherwise you'll go till you collapse and you haven't regained your full strength back."

Severus said nothing, for Skull was dead on target. "All right, you black harbinger, I will rest if you will keep watch."

"Done, O Master of Subtlety!" Skull agreed. "Now off to bed with you, young man!"

"Skullduggery, don't make me get out the shears," growled his wizard. "My featherduster needs a few more plumes."

"You wouldn't dare! Then you'd have a bald familiar, like a chicken, and you'd be a laughingstock. Because who would be intimidated by a bald raven, eh?"

Severus yawned. "I was teasing, bird, don't get in a tizzy. Goodnight, Skull."

The raven nuzzled him, then began to croon "Rock-a-bye Baby" in a woman's gentle soprano while perched on the headboard.

Severus rubbed his eyes and just managed to undress and slip on a T-shirt over his boxers before falling on his bed. This time he had no trouble sleeping.

**A/N: What can be done to help Harry? Any suggestions? How did you like the sleepwalking sequence? I had a cousin who did that, it was very unnerving.**


	37. A Suitable Teacher

**37**

**A Suitable Teacher**

When Harry woke the next morning, he couldn't remember how he had come to be in his room in Snape's quarters. He sat up, trying to figure it out, scratching his head in puzzlement. Then it all came back to him; the sleepwalking, the astral travel, and returning to his body too soon and becoming embarrassingly ill in front of his Head of House and Severus. "Somebody hex me now," he groaned to himself. He wished he knew why his magic kept betraying him like this, creating problems he didn't know how to solve.

Sighing, he slid from the next of blankets and began to dress. He didn't have class till the afternoon, and could probably go back to bed, but he wasn't tired. He wondered if Severus was awake yet and what he would say about this new development. He would probably be as pleased about it as Harry was. Once he had combed his hair down, he went out into the sitting room, and found Skull napping on the back of Snape's recliner while Severus read the paper.

Harry shuffled into the room and took a seat on the couch.

Skull opened one beady eye and cawed. "Good morning, _bran-_boy! Sleep well?"

Harry blushed, then said awkwardly, "Uh . . . yeah, I guess so. Morning, Uncle Sev."

Severus set the paper down on his lap and looked at the boy. "Good morning, Harry. I trust there were no more . . . episodes after I brought you down here last night?"

"No." Harry said, playing with a string dangling from his sleeve.

Severus looked relieved, then he called Prissy and asked her to bring some tea and a light breakfast.

The elf returned with a platter of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon and a large pot of tea. Severus filled a plate for Harry and sent it over to him along with some tea, sugar, and milk. He took a saucer and placed some eggs and bacon on it for Skull and then began to eat his own meal.

They ate quietly, the only sound in the room the soft clink of silverware and Skull's humming. Finally, Severus set down his fork and tossed his napkin over his plate and said, "Harry, we need to talk. How long have you been sleepwalking?"

Harry paused with a piece of toast midway to his mouth. He quickly set it down and said, "Err . . . I'm not too sure. Maybe . . . a couple of days?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me about it?" the Potions Master asked, a faint hurt tone creeping into his speech. "I thought you had gotten over keeping secrets from me."

"I . . . It wasn't like that, Uncle Sev," Harry protested. "I mean, I didn't even know I was sleepwalking until Ron and Nev told me about it a few days ago." He told Severus about waking up and finding his hands scraped and his pajamas wet and muddy. "At first I thought I'd done it to myself, you know scratched myself in my sleep. And that somebody had put the leaves in my hair as a joke. I was having weird dreams, but maybe they weren't just dreams. I couldn't remember anything when I woke up."

"I see. Do you know that you were Traveling as you sleepwalked? That was how you never fell while crawling all over the castle walls and ledges." Severus pointed out. It made him feel a little better that Harry hadn't been totally trying to keep the episodes a secret from him, that Harry did trust him somewhat.

"I was Traveling in my _sleep_?" Harry gasped. "I . . . didn't think you could do that."

"You can," Skull purred.

"But . . . why?"

"I was hoping you could answer that question," Severus said. "Do you remember falling asleep and being anxious over something? Or upset?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I was just really tired, but not . . ."

"There was nothing you recall that . . . compelled you Travel?

"No. Least not that I can remember. I don't understand. Why is this happening?"

"I am . . . not sure." Severus hesitated.

"I think your talent is slipping its leash, Harry," Skull chimed in gravely.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you need help controlling it," the raven replied.

"But . . . how can I control it when I don't even know I'm doing it?"

"That is the heart of the matter," his guardian said. "I do not like what has been happening, Harry. This Traveling subconsciously is dangerous."

"It's not my fault!"

"Did I say it was?" Severus rebuked softly. "Skullduggery tells me that when you Travel thus, you put yourself at risk in the Place Between Worlds. That you make yourself vulnerable to certain predators there."

Harry swallowed hard. "I do? But I'm not looking for anything over there."

"That doesn't matter. For a beginning Traveler, like yourself, there are many dangers. You don't need to look for them, _bran_-boy. They'll come looking for _you_," Skull told him.

"How do I stop doing it then?"

"I suppose I could give you Dreamless Sleep temporarily," Severus conceded. "That should put you into a deep enough sleep that your mind will not be tempted to wander. But that will only work so long, Harry. I brought you down here to keep you from climbing out the window and running about on the parapet. We need to find you a tutor, someone who knows how to Travel and can teach you how to control your power."

"Can't you do it? You've Traveled."

"Only with Skull's help. I am not experienced enough, Harry. It isn't something which comes naturally to me like it does to you."

"What if I asked the Codex?"

"That's a start, but the book might only be able to help you a little. It is not the font of all knowledge." Severus said. "Still . . . while you speak with the book, I am going to speak with Irma and Lena. The Society may know someone with the ability, since they deal in obscure branches of magic." Or so Severus hoped.

Harry looked suddenly frightened. "Why is this happening to me, Uncle Severus? I thought . . . with Voldemort dead things would . . . go back to normal. But they're not. Instead I'm more of a freak than ever."

Severus' eyes flashed. "Harry James, you are not a freak. Never let me hear you speak like that again. You are a talented wizard and there is nothing abnormal about it."

"Uh huh. And how many of your students sleepwalk and Travel at the same time?" asked Harry pointedly.

"You are the first."

"But Harry, that is part of the Old Magic," Skull crooned, flying over and preening the agitated teen's hair. "You were born that way. Like Sev. And Lena and Irma."

Harry bit his lip. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't."

"There's no sense in wishing to be other than you are," the raven said pragmatically. "That's like a cat wishing to fly like a bird. The talent is within you and now you must learn how to live with it."

"That's so bloody helpful, Skull!" Harry snapped.

"Language, Harry James," Severus reprimanded.

"Sorry, it just . . . slipped out." Harry swiftly apologized. "I . . . I'm afraid, Uncle Severus." That last came out a reluctant whisper.

Severus rose and came to sit beside his son. He slipped an arm about the dark-haired youngster's shoulder and said gently, "I know you are. You have a right to be. But together we will find a solution. It's not impossible."

Harry leaned his head on his guardian. Even though he was scared, Severus' presence made him feel better. He knew that Snape would move heaven and earth to help him, and he trusted the older wizard like none other. If Severus said a solution could be found, they would find it.

"Let us pay a visit to the library," suggested his professor. "It's early, but I'm sure Lena or Irma will be there." At this hour, Severus was also sure that most students would be in class or sleeping in, and therefore there was less chance of Harry being observed using the Restricted Section.

"All right." Harry agreed, standing up. Maybe the Codex would have the answers he needed.

But the ancient tome told him it held only the information it had shared with him before. _I know how to awaken the power within, young wizard, but mastery is not something I am privy to. Those who created me long ago did not see fit to reveal all their secrets. Or perhaps they felt Traveling was easily learned once it was awakened._

"But it's not!" Harry cried, frustrated. He longed to slam the book closed, but knew better than to act so childishly. "Would you know of someone else that can teach me?"

_No. What I know of wizards is limited to those who have used me to study. You are the first I have spoken to in centuries, and those who came before you are long gone._

Harry ground his teeth together. "Isn't there anything else you can tell me about Traveling?"

_Only what is written within my pages._ The book replied, sounding regretful.

Harry put his head on his hand and gazed at the book, disappointed. He had come to rely on the ancient text as having all the answers and it was upsetting to discover that it did not contain the information he sought. Why didn't those stupid ancient wizards write a handbook on how to Travel?

Meanwhile, Severus explained to Lena what had been happening and asked if she could offer any insight into Harry's Traveling ability. "If there is any reason you might know of, Lena, please share it with me."

But the blond librarian shook her head sadly. "I am not as well read in that branch as I am in the mind magics, Severus. Like you, I only learned how to Travel recently, and the only hypothesis I can come up with is that perhaps Harry is afraid of something subconsciously and that's why his power is responding that way."

"I have asked him if he feels anxious or frightened before going to sleep, he claims not."

"Perhaps you could write to the Ravenmistress, she knows all the Society members, both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We have branches in Europe and America also. If there are any who can Travel, she can find them for you. I'm sorry, Severus, that I can't be of more help to you."

"Don't apologize. You cannot be expected to know everything. I shall start giving him Dreamless Sleep, that should ensure he does not go wandering."

"Perhaps you ought to monitor him first, Severus. Use your Legilimency and see if there is something, some memory, that is causing him to Travel. He might not even be aware of it."

"You wish me to let him sleepwalk again?"

"Yes, but not around the castle. Just . . . keep him inside your quarters and see what happens. It could be he's suffering from flashbacks from battling the revenant. Merlin knows I still have nightmares over that thing!" She shivered. "Maybe Harry does too, only his mind refuses to admit it."

Severus eyed her shrewdly. "Then you haven't been sleeping well either?"

"Not really. I am tired, but as soon as I lay down, I dream of the fiend trying to suck out my magic. I've taken Dreamless Sleep a few times, but I know my limits with that. I go to sleep early and wake feeling as if I hadn't slept at all."

"I'm experiencing much the same thing, though without the nightmares." Severus admitted. "Could this be a side-effect of the revenant almost destroying us?"

"Yes. I think. Only . . . we should have recovered by now as we weren't drained bodily, like Dumbledore."

"We could be pushing ourselves too much." Severus frowned. "Let me pen a letter to the Ravenmistress."

Once he had done so, he sent it off with Skull, praying that the lady would have an answer for him.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

It was a disappointed Harry who attended Transfiguration that afternoon. They were reviewing for their final exam and after the initial questions from the class, McGonagall allowed them to break up into small groups of four and five to help each other review. Harry quickly formed their usual study group, consisting of Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Draco. As he pulled out his notebook, Ron poked him in the shoulder and whispered, "So . . . how did it go last night?"

"Not good," Harry frowned, recalling that Ron didn't know about the latest episode.

His friend's eyebrows rose. "It happened again?"

"Yes."

"What happened again?" asked Hermione curiously.

Harry sighed, debating on whether or not to tell about his problem. Finally he supposed he might as well, since Hermione would only haunt him till he did, and Draco also was looking puzzled. The Slytherin would probably be insulted if he learned Harry had confided in the other two boys and not him. Ron was looking at him questioningly.

Because he didn't want the rest of the class listening in, Harry tore off a sheet of parchment and wrote down the sleepwalking problem, then he passed it to Hermione, who read it and passed it to Draco. Both of them looked rather shocked.

"Harry, that's awful!" Hermione exclaimed softly. "Do you know what's causing it?"

"No."

"That we'll figure it out."

"Maybe it's some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Hermione speculated.

"Say what?" Ron looked at her as if she were speaking Russian. "What's that in English?"

"It's when you experience anxiety and flashbacks from being in combat," she explained. "Harry fought the revenant. That's enough to give anybody nightmares."

"But I'm _not_ having nightmares," Harry scowled.

"That you can remember," Draco pointed out. "Does it seem like you have to go somewhere in your dream?"

Harry shook his head rapidly. "No. I fall asleep and then I just . . .sleepwalk."

"Maybe you should see a psychiatrist," suggested Hermione.

"I'm not crazy!"

"They're called Mind Healers in the wizarding world," Draco corrected her.

"I don't care what they're called, I'm not going to one," Harry growled. That would be all he needed, for people to think he was going round the bend.

"But Harry, maybe one could help you. They might be able to hypnotize you or something," Hermione persisted.

"I _said_ **no!" **Harry snarled, not realizing his voice had risen sharply.

The rest of the class turned to stare at him and McGonagall came over, frowning. "Is there a reason, Mr. Potter, that you are yelling during class? Because you are disrupting others from studying and I'm going to ask you once to lower your voice."

"Sorry, professor. I was just . . . err . . . disagreeing with Hermione," Harry replied, going slightly red.

"Do so without shouting then, or else I shall take points and give you a detention for causing a disturbance," she ordered frostily.

"Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again," he murmured. Merlin help him if he got a detention now! Severus would throttle him.

"Way to go, Granger," Draco snorted, miming applause.

"I was only trying to help," she said, looking contrite. "A friend of my cousin's . . ."

"Forget it. Let's try and study the properties of turning a matchbox into a mouse," Harry said. That was better than discussing his stupid problem any day.

"How many times counterclockwise do you move your wand again?" asked Neville.

"Two," Draco and Hermione replied together.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Merlin's pants!"

Somehow Harry managed to get through the rest of the day without biting anyone's head off. Severus had sent a note round to Minerva stating that Harry would be sleeping down in his quarters until the issue with the sleepwalking had been resolved. That suited both Gryffindors fine, Minerva because she was relieved to not have to worry about Harry falling to his death off the tower and Harry because then none of his Housemates could watch him make an ass out of himself.

Harry quickly did his homework before getting ready for bed. He waited for Severus to give him the Dreamless Sleep, but Severus was grading and did not mention it. Finally, when it was almost nine thirty, Harry tapped the Potions Master on the shoulder. "Uncle Sev, aren't you going to give me some Dreamless Sleep?"

Severus looked up. "Not tonight. I wish to conduct a sort of experiment. I want to see if you sleepwalk while you are down in the dungeons. I will be monitoring you closely and so will Skullduggery, you won't be able to leave the room, but I wish to see if there is an inner influence driving you."

"Like what?"

"I do not know, hence the experiment." Severus said. "Go and get ready for bed as usual."

Harry did, but then perversely, he couldn't fall asleep. He read several chapters of _The Hobbit_ before he finally started to doze off.

Skull flew in to see if Harry was asleep and reported back to Severus that the boy was finally out.

Severus came in then and sat beside Harry, letting the boy go deeper into the sleep state before he gently rested his wand on Harry's temple and whispered, "Legilimens."

He slipped into Harry's mind like a wraith, gently skimming the first layers, which were blanketed with sleep. He moved downward, searching for any memory that might be frightening or disturbing, but found nothing particularly noteworthy. He found flashes of Harry's worry over the sleepwalking, some irritation at Hermione, and a single flicker of dread accompanied by Marlene's face, but that was all.

Severus withdrew.

"Well?" Skull hissed.

"Nothing. He's not being plagued by guilt or nightmares that I can tell."

"He's not trying to access the Place Between Worlds either," the raven told him.

"So we wait. I need to finish graing my third years. Keep watch for me, Skull." Severus ordered, rising.

"Of course, sensei," Skull gave him a half-bow. "I will call if something happens."

An hour later, Skull flew into Snape's living room and cawed in the professor's ear, "Sev! He's doing it again. Hurry!"

The raven vanished, gone between worlds to keep an eye on Harry.

Severus turned when he heard the quiet footsteps and saw Harry walking towards him, a vacant expression on his face. His eyes were open, but unseeing. Severus felt a slight shiver go through him, for that blank stare was unnerving on the boy, who hours before had been vividly alert and aware. It was like watching a doppelganger or automaton shambling towards him.

Severus carefully blocked the boy's path, he appeared to be heading towards the door, and performed Legilimency again, only to withdraw almost immediately. "Idiot!" he snarled at himself. "Of course you can't get a reading . . . his spirit is no longer in his body."

Harry suddenly pushed past him and bumped up against the closed door. He went to open it, but the door was securely locked. Making odd muttering sounds, Harry started to bang on the door.

At that instant, Skull reappeared in a cloud of black feathers. "Sev, he's trying to get out and go by the lake, don't ask me why. He keeps wanting to walk by the water."

"Is there anything following him?"

"No. Do you want me to try and get him back in his body?"

"Will it wake him?"

"Hmm . . . not really. His mind's still partially asleep, so . . ."

"Do it."

Skull disappeared again.

Severus could tell when the raven had managed to make the sleeping Harry return to his body.

Harry stopped banging on the door and stood quietly, blinking.

Severus, acting on instinct, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and turned him about. "Harry, go back to bed. Go back to bed, Harry." He gave the boy a gentle shove to get him moving in the right direction.

Harry started walking. He walked right back into his room and got in bed. By the time Severus arrived, Harry was snoring.

"He's asleep! Just like that," muttered the Potions Master.

Skull popped back in. "Safe and sound, Sev."

"But we are no closer to discovering the reason why," sighed the wizard.

"Can't win 'em all, Snape. Hopefully the Ravenmistress will find someone who can explain it." The raven cawed.

Severus nodded wearily. Perhaps whoever she found would also be able to explain this strange fatigue he kept experiencing. He headed into his bedroom, knowing that Skull would watch Harry during the night.

**Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break**

Three days later, Severus received a reply from the Ravenmistress about his request. Her raven delivered the missive promptly, took the dead mouse she preferred, and went to find Skullduggery.

Severus quickly broke the seal on the envelope and read the letter rapidly.

_Dear Potions Master Snape,_

_Since receiving your letter, I have done my utmost to find a teacher for your apprentice. In a fortunate coincidence, one of our brethren from across the pond has come to visit the castle, he is an old friend of mine and happens to be one of the most respected and powerful members of the Society in America. He also happens to be a shaman and as such, knows well the ways of astral Traveling. His people, for he is half-Native American, have nurtured that particular gift for time out of mind, and has agreed to meet with you and teach Harry how to control his powers. He goes by the name Darren "Ghost Walker"MacKenzie, and will meet you outside the gates of Hogwarts tomorrow morning, as he wishes to finish his research on an important artifact before committing himself to you. I am sure you shall get along splendidly._

_Best of luck,_

_Arianrhod Melgwyn_

_Ravenmistress_

Severus relaxed then. This was more than he had hoped for. That the Ravenmistress might have found someone with some knowledge of Traveling yes, but this MacKenzie fellow sounded like an expert and seemed willing to stay the summer and make sure Harry was properly trained. There was only two weeks left in the semester, then they would go home to his cottage on Moorshead. He would send Prissy over first to get the house ready for them, ensuring their guest's comfort as well as their own. Moorshead was situated on the border of Scotland and England, it was where his father's family came from, and Severus had inherited the cottage upon the death of his Muggle uncle, George Snape, who had died childless. Severus was the last male Snape alive, there had been an aunt, Clarissa, but she had moved to New York and married a businessman, so the cottage belonged to him free and clear.

The cottage, ironically, was christened Ravenhold, for the many ravens that nested in the woods about the area, and Severus considered it his refuge. Skullduggery was a common sight there, the locals all knew he kept a tame raven, and so were not shocked that the bird talked. Severus maintained a cordial relationship with his neighbors, for nothing drew suspicion faster than being reclusive in those parts, but the Muggles knew him as a chemistry professor at an expensive boarding school in Scotland, one who was away most of the year.

He wondered what they would think of him suddenly acquiring a ward and a houseguest for the summer; not that it mattered, but Severus liked to be prepared for anything. Thank goodness his neighbors were not prone to gossip, though there would be talk in the village for a bit about the solitary professor finally getting some company. Setting the letter down, he sipped his cup of tea, then sent for Skull to find Harry.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

If not for Severus dosing him with Dreamless Sleep, Harry knew he would have hardly slept a wink that night. He was on fire with curiosity to meet this other wizard, one who could teach him about Traveling and who was also from America besides. Severus had told Harry he was half-Indian, and all Harry knew about Indians was from watching the telly at the Dursleys. He wondered if the man wore paint and buckskins, or feathers in his hair. Did American wizards wear robes? He pictured an old man, white haired and wearing buffalo robes like the elders did in the American Westerns he'd seen, kind of like the Headmaster but with braids and no beard. He hoped this teacher would get on well with him and with Severus, who had told him the shaman would be spending the summer with them, if necessary.

Harry was up almost at first light, impatiently waiting for Severus. He was dressed in his uniform and Severus had to mock threaten to Stick him to the chair before he would sit down and eat breakfast. He kept glancing at the mantle clock, as if fearing to be late, until Severus said exasperatedly, "Harry, Mr. MacKenzie won't be meeting us until nine, we have plenty of time to get there, as it's only eight thirty. Now finish eating, you know how I feel about you skipping meals."

Harry obeyed, but barely ate half his food. He wanted to scream because Severus seemed to be taking an endless time eating his egg and cheese sandwich and drinking his coffee.

Finally, they were ready. Harry half-trotted to keep up with Severus' longer strides down the path. Skull flew overhead, idly circling on the updrafts. They passed Hagrid's hut and continued down and around the lawn to the wrought iron gates.

Just beyond the gates stood a tall man with dark hair that hung past his shoulders. He was lean and rangy, wearing a dark blue shirt decorated with white fringe across the back tucked into blue jeans. Knee-high moccasins completed the outfit.

As Severus and Harry approached, the professor gestured and the gates swung open.

"Mr. MacKenzie?"

The man turned to face them.

He was not old, as Harry had expected, but looked to be a little older than Severus, his skin was tanned from wind and weather, and he had a single braid with a white feather in it hanging from his right side. He had high cheekbones and penetrating aqua eyes. A friendly smile curled up his mouth. "Hello. You must be Potions Master Snape. Pleased to meet you." He held out a long-fingered hand.

Severus shook it firmly. "Severus. And this is my ward, Harry Potter."

"Hello, sir," Harry said, smiling tentatively.

"Hello, Harry. My name is Darren "Ghost Walker" McKenzie, but you can just call me Ghost. I'm a shaman of Windfar, from South Dakota." He clasped Harry's hand gently. "And who is this fine fellow?" he indicated Skullduggery, who was now perched upon Severus' shoulder.

"Skullduggery, Greater Tower raven, and Sev's familiar, at your service," the raven answered, giving Ghost a friendly nod.

Before Ghost could say anything more, there came a loud squawk and a large white shape shot down from the sky to land on the shaman's outstretched arm. The white raven eyed the two wizards and Skullduggery curiously with gold eyes. "And this is Shriek, my familiar and _manitou_."

"What's a _manitou_?" Harry asked.

"Spirit guide in Mesquakie, the language of my people," Ghost replied.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, both of you," Severus said, and he beckoned the two through the gates.

**A/N: Well, here's another chapter! Thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing, I look forward to hearing from you. What do you think of Harry's new teacher so far?**


	38. A Shaman at Hogwarts

**38**

**A Shaman at Hogwarts**

Ghost followed Harry and Severus across the lawn, looking curiously around as he did so. The shaman wasn't used to seeing large castles, despite his recent sojourn in the Society castle. On his shoulder, Shriek peered about, her eyes taking in everything. Suddenly the familiar turned and cawed at Skull, "So, are you the only raven here, or are there more of you?"

"Until now, my lady, I was the only one here," Skull replied quietly, giving his tail a roguish flip.

"I see. You must have gotten lonely then."

"Sometimes. But Sev and Harry keep me busy."

Severus snorted. "Don't let him fool you, he's always into mischief."

Ghost grinned. "A typical raven. Their mischievous nature is part of their charm."

"Until it drives you crazy," Severus said. "But, Skull has saved my life many times, so I'll put up with it."

"I understand completely," the shaman chuckled.

"Is there a reason why your raven is white, sir?" Harry asked curiously.

"Just Ghost, Harry. No need to sir me," Ghost corrected. "As for why Shriek is white, it's because she came from the spirit realm. When I went on my vision quest when I was thirteen, and was chosen by Raven, Shriek came to me. She is not only my familiar, but my spirit guide, thus she is white."

"Do all shamans have raven familiars where you're from?"

Ghost shook his head. "No. A shaman's familiar can be any sort of animal, though usually it tends to be similar to one's _manitou_. One shaman I knew when I was a boy had a black bear as his familiar."

"A_ bear_?" Severus exclaimed.

"Yup. Now there was one guy you didn't want to mess with," Ghost said.

They entered the castle, and Severus said, "I've arranged for a suite for you and your familiar, next to my quarters. You can settle in and discuss your tutoring schedule with Harry and me, then we'll go to breakfast in the Great Hall and you can meet Headmaster Dumbledore and the rest of the staff."

"Thank you, Severus. I appreciate the hospitality."

"It's the least I can do, since you won't accept a fee."

"I'm a Windfar shaman, which means I believe in a duty to instruct an apprentice in need." Ghost told them. He looked at Harry and said, "I heard you've been having difficulties with your Travelling ability. Don't worry, I'll get you sorted out, Harry. Shriek and I have trained many young Travelers."

Harry smiled up at his new tutor. He had a feeling that studying with Ghost was going to be a very interesting experience.

Some of the students they passed, heading towards the hall for breakfast, stared at their unusual guest. But seeing he was in the company of the Potions Master and Harry, they did not stop and talk, figuring Snape was in a hurry. Ghost nodded pleasantly at them as they passed.

When they reached Ghost's quarters, Shriek said, "You unpack, Ghost. Skull offered to show me around the castle. See you!"

With that, the white raven took wing and Skull did as well, calling, "Meet you in the hall, Sev! Come my bright winged lady, and see the finest castle in Scotland."

The two ravens flew off and Severus gave Ghost the key to his quarters.

Ghost unlocked the door and beckoned the other two wizards inside.

The interior of the suite was similar to Severus' own, with a comfortable sectional couch in black leather, a fireplace, a cherry wood table, two end tables, a recliner, a potions cabinet stocked with standard potions, and a combination bedroom and bath. There was a bookshelf with a few volumes next to fireplace, and a rug on the floor with all sorts of animals on it. Mageglobes hung from the ceiling, able to be brightened or dimmed at word, providing plenty of light. There was also a false window, showing a bright sunny day with a view of the lake. In a corner stood a perch and two attached food dishes.

"Very nice! It appears you've thought of everything." Ghost said, looking about with approval.

"Not me, the house elves," Severus clarified. "Once I explained you were coming, they fixed this up."

"I'll have to thank them then," Ghost said, reaching into a pocket and withdrawing a mini knapsack. He enlarged it and then began to remove a few items from it. First came a medium sized rug, the same size as a person, woven out of wool and with many stylized designs on it. Ghost set it on one side of the fireplace and then pulled out a floating table set with a clay bowl and a few sticks of incense. He set that in front of the rug, against the wall.

"My prayer rug and smudging kit," he said. "We'll do a smudging ceremony to begin with, Harry. That will help you center and focus your magic and thoughts and purify you of any negative influences."

Next he pulled out a beautifully carved oak staff with a raven's head. A rawhide strap threaded with multi-colored beads and several white and black feathers were tied to the top of it. The staff was over six feet tall and had Mesquakie symbols carved on it. "My thunder staff. No shaman worth his name is without one." He set the staff gently in the corner reverently.

"What's that do, Ghost?" Harry asked, he could sense there was a great magic in the staff.

"Many things, I'll tell you a few later. If I do it now we could be here all morning."

"It's magical, right?"

"Oh yes. I made it myself. It's the last great test a shaman has to pass before they complete their apprenticeship, the creation of their own staff of power. Like your wands, it can amplify my magic, and also store spells."

"Wicked!" Harry cried. "You don't use wands, then?"

"Not usually. In Windfar, a shaman is trained to do wandless magic as much as possible. Our staves are used for self defense or to give us an advantage when we're doing ritual magic." He sent the pack into the bedroom then took a seat on the couch.

Harry went and sat beside him at the shaman's beckon. "Uh . . . is it true that you Americans don't have blood status?"

"In a manner of speaking. We still have purebloods, half-bloods, and Exceptionals—what you in Britain call Muggleborns. In Windfar, the non-magic half of the community is called Ordinaries. And they all know about magic. Windfar is unique in that regard, it is a place where Ordinary and shaman live side by side together, without prejudice. In Windfar, the half-blood is truly king. Most of us there are of mixed blood—_Mesquakie_ and white, Ordinary and magical. When a child is born with magic, we make no distinction between pureblood or Exceptional or half-blood. That's the beauty of my home, we have tolerance for other cultures, religions, and customs. When Windfar was founded by my ancestor, Alyssa "Silverflash" MacKenzie, a white woman who was adopted into the _Mesquakie_ and became their war chief and shaman, its sole reason for existing was to provide a haven for Indians and whites to live in peace together, with no group better than the other. She and her husband, a Ranger scout named Will "Shadow Fox" MacKenzie, who was a half-breed, made tolerance of others a prime requisite of staying in Windfar. In the outside world white and Indian were killing each other, in a war that the whites eventually won. But none of them could get inside Windfar, for Silverflash had placed powerful earth wards about the valley, forbidding anyone with evil intent or discord in their heart entry. Only those willing to set aside the prejudices of the past were allowed past the border. And strangers had to be invited in by a resident. It's been that way for over two hundred years."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "It sounds almost like a paradise."

Ghost shook his head. "Even Paradise has Coyote, Severus. Windfar isn't perfect, and neither are its citizens. There have been misunderstandings and fights on both sides, though no one with a true resentment and hatred in their heart are permitted to stay. The earth magic will force them out eventually, and once they leave, they cannot come back. But those of Windfar are more willing to compromise than most, and being a community of half-bloods it comes easier than normal. It's nestled in a huge valley inbetween three mountain ranges, and there is always enough game to hunt and space for people to build houses and wigwams. The valley provides enough for all who live there. The enchantment Silverflash worked atop Summoner's Hill still endures today."

"How many of you are there?"

"At last count, I believe a thousand of us are there. And like I said, most are half-bloods, both magical and Ordinary."

"And everyone knows about you?"

"No, those on the outside don't, unless we specifically invite them into the valley. Oh, people know there's a community somewhere called Windfar, because we do go outside the valley sometimes, but they don't know about magic unless they grew up there, or are wizards themselves."

"So you don't have a Statute of Secrecy?" Severus queried.

"Windfar doesn't, but the rest of America does, though there are exceptions to that rule, depending on the circumstance." Ghost replied. "Harry, to start off with, I think two hours a day practicing meditation and other techniques to center and ground you is enough. How does an hour in the morning, say at 7AM, and an hour in the evening, around 7PM, sound? Will that fit into your current schedule?"

"Uh . . . I think so. I'll have time to do my homework before then, or I can do it after." Harry agreed. "And right now I don't have too much since we're reviewing for finals."

"Once you're done with school, we can arrange more time per lesson," Ghost said. "I'm flexible, so if you need to change times just tell me. Most of what I'll be teaching you is practical magic, you learn by doing, since most of my tribe didn't believe in writing things down. I will occasionally give you a few quizzes to test your memory, but mostly your tests will be in the Place Between Worlds, as you learn how to master the skills you need to survive. That's my ultimate goal, to teach you how to Travel and survive in the Other World. In return I expect you to learn what I have to teach and to respect me as a teacher. Give me an attitude and there are plenty of chores for you to do in repayment." He cleared his throat, suddenly looking as stern as Severus on a bad day. "That's how my people punish a child who misbehaves, by a succession of chores. _Mesquakie_ don't believe in spanking a child, unless they lie or put themselves in danger. Which I'm sure you _won't_ be doing, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"He knows better," Severus cut in. "If he gets in trouble with you, he'll get twice the punishment from me."

Ghost merely nodded. "We'll begin lessons tomorrow. So get a good night's sleep tonight."

"I will, Ghost." Harry promised. He just hoped he didn't sleepwalk tonight.

"All right, I think we'd better stop gabbing and get to breakfast. I don't know about you two, but I'm starving and could eat a flying pig."

"A flying pig?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yup. Don't you have them over here?"

"No. You mean there really _is_ such a thing?" Harry asked, wide-eyed.

"Sure is. We have flying pigs, cows, and horses. Used to have flying buffalo too, but they died out." Ghost said. "Back when I was a boy, us apprentice shamans used to have contests trying to rope the flying calves from the back of a Pegasus, or tackling a flying pig."

"That sounds kind of neat. Did you ever win?"

"A few times. And a few times I got knocked off my horse on my ass too," Ghost admitted candidly, his eyes sparkling. "Until I learned the most important thing—how to stick on the saddle no matter what."

Harry giggled at that and even Severus smiled. Then they all rose and headed up to the Great Hall.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

When Harry entered the hall with Ghost and Severus, the students all turned to stare curiously at the shaman. Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table, where Hermione, Ron, Neville were sitting. All of them looked at the tall shaman with something like awe. "Who's that, Harry?" asked Ron.

"My new tutor," Harry informed them quietly.

Ghost stepped up beside the dark-haired boy and said, "Introduce me to your friends, Harry."

"Uh . . . right. Hermione, Ron, Neville . . . everyone, this is Darren "Ghost Walker" MacKenzie. He's a shaman from Windfar, in America."

"Just call me Ghost," Ghost said, smiling genially. "Pleased to meet all of you."

"Hey, don't leave us out," Draco said from the Slytherin table.

"Sorry. Ghost, over here's the Slytherin table, Uncle Severus' Head of this House, and I'm an honorary serpent. Draco, Blaise, Marcus, and Mark, meet Ghost, my new tutor."

There were hellos and pleased-to-meet-you-sir's all around. Draco came and shook the shaman's hand, as he had been taught by Narcissa.

Then he asked quietly, "Are you an Indian, sir?"

"I'm a half-blood. Half-Fox and half-white, though the true name of my tribe is _Mesquakie_, which means Red Earth People."

"Can you shoot a bow and arrow?" asked Ron.

"Yes. And also throw a knife and shoot a rifle. Most people in Windfar know how to defend themselves, including the women."

"Wicked!" Hermione exclaimed. "So you live in a wizarding town?"

"No. Windfar is composed of wizard and non-wizard, and are mostly half-bloods, both magical and non-magical."

Several gasps followed that.

"You mean, you get along with Muggles?" Neville queried.

"We call them Ordinaries, and yes, we do. They respect us and we respect them."

Just then Skull and Shriek flew into the hall and when they landed on their wizard's respective shoulders, more questions poured from the students' mouths.

"Wow! What kind of bird is that, a crow?"

"No, I think it's a raven."

"But ravens aren't white!"

"I am, youngling," Shriek spoke up, fluffing up her feathers and crest.

"She talks! Like Skull!" exclaimed Tarrent.

"Naturally. I am Shriek, spiritual advisor to my shaman, Ghost Walker." She hopped down on to the Slytherin table and walked among the plates. She paused at Draco's place and eyed a piece of bacon hungrily. "That looks wonderful! Do you mind sharing?"

"No, here," Draco held out a strip and Shriek ate it in a few gulps.

"Tasty!" Then she moved down the line, eating something from everyone's plate.

Ghost sighed. "Don't be a glutton, Shriek."

"Mind your own business, Ghost. You forgot to feed me," the raven called back, then swallowed a piece of melon.

"I did not, we just didn't have time to wait for breakfast at Raven Castle," Ghost said defensively.

"Excuses! Excuses!" Shriek trilled.

"Well, don't come crying to me when you stuff yourself like a Thanksgiving turkey and can't move."

"Like I've ever done that, O Wise One!" Shriek mocked, taking a grape from a Slytherin girl, her amber eyes glinting.

"Seems to me you did that at the Summer Fruits Festival this year," Ghost reminded.

"That wasn't food I was tasting, it was wine," Shriek claimed. "So I was a little drunk, so sue me. Everyone was, including you, mighty warrior." She blew a raspberry at Ghost insolently, making the kids giggle at her audacity.

Skull flew down on the Gryffindor table and began dancing across it, and the Gryffindors gave him tidbits from their plates as well.

Severus and Ghost exchanged commiserating glances, then Severus told the students to stop pestering their guest and eat. "You can speak to him later, children, for now let us all eat breakfast." He gently steered Ghost away to the dais where the faculty sat.

The ravens didn't follow, neither one would pass up free handouts.

Dumbledore rose as they approached, beaming like Ghost was a long lost relative. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. MacKenzie." He shook Ghost's hand rapidly. "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster."

"Ghost, or Ghost Walker, please. I'm not one for formality. Thank you for having me."

"MacKenzie?" McGonagall piped up. "You're Scots then?"

"Partly. My ancestor, William MacKenzie, was half Scottish and half Asakawaki. The Sak, or Yellow Earth People, are a sister tribe to the Mesquakie, or Fox, as the whites called us. Will's father, Ian, was a Scottish immigrant, a farmer and fir trapper who married the daughter of a Sac chief, Winter Wren. But Wren died of a fever, leaving Ian alone. Once they all settled in Windfar valley, Ian remarried, this time to a half-blood woman, and had a few more kids. As did Will and his wife Silverflash. Today, the MacKenzie clan is huge, I have four siblings and dozens of cousins, aunts, and uncles. The joke is that everyone's related to a MacKenzie somehow."

"And are you all wizards?"

"No. But a lot of us are. We inherited the magic from my ancestor Silverflash, and other shaman lines who married into the MacKenzie family. All of us bear some Mesquakie or Sac blood."

"How very interesting," Minerva said. "You know, the McGonagall clan intermarried with the MacKenzies some years back. I have MacKenzie cousins still in the Highlands."

"Perhaps we're distantly related too," Ghost said.

Minerva laughed. "In that case, welcome cousin! My name is Minerva."

"It's an honor to meet you, cousin." He shook her hand.

"Please, sit down. You must be starving." She waved him to a seat inbetween her and Severus.

The rest of the staff introduced themselves, clearly fascinated by their visitor, but allowing him to eat before they started talking to him.

Ghost, for his part, took all the curious looks and questions in stride. He was just glad none of these British wizards and witches bore prejudice towards Indians, he'd dealt with altogether too much of that sort of thing out West and even down South. He liked Severus and Minerva right off, as well as the librarians, who were also Society members. In truth, he liked everyone he had met so far, and looked forward to teaching Harry.

Just then Shriek flew to him, and Irma exclaimed, "Ceridwen! A white raven?"

"How remarkable!" Lena added.

"This is my familiar and spirit guide, Shriek."

"I'm his better half," interjected the snowy raven. "You wouldn't happen to know of any young single ladies around? He needs to find a wife, before he's too old to do her any good. His mother is so disappointed that he hasn't married yet."

Ghost covered his face with his hand, blushing. "Shriek, damn it all!" he growled. "I am _not_ here to look for a wife!"

"Maybe you should be!" the raven purred saucily. "You have a whole different class of women here. You should take a look around."

"And _you_ should mind your own business, you matchmaking featherduster," Ghost scolded.

"I'm only trying to help, you boneheaded fool. By the time you make up your mind, you'll be ready for your burial shroud, and you promised your mom some grandchildren." Shriek squawked.

By then all the witches were laughing.

"Please ignore her, she had no manners," Ghost said apologetically.

"No raven does," put in Severus. "They're all insolent brats."

"But if we weren't you'd be bored to death," purred Shriek. "Like you are with an owl. Owls are so dull! Ravens at least know how to have a good time and make you laugh, Master Snape."

Severus coughed. "You and Skullduggery are two of a kind, madam."

"But of course. We're ravens. And you are lucky to have one."

"I know." Severus said softly.

"Skull was right, you are a smart man." Shriek declared, making Ghost chuckle.

"That should be obvious, considering he is a raven's choice."

"And we don't pick idiots," stated Shriek.

"That goes without saying," Skull chimed in. "Who wants a dense wizard? Not me!"

"Too true, darling! There are too many idiots out there, why should we bond ourselves to one?" Shriek queried. "I'm not a big fan of self torture."

"Unlike one of my cousins in the Tower. Now there was a raven who liked to wallow in misery. Talk about stupid . . ." Skull began.

While the ravens bantered, Harry fended off questions from his friends about his new tutor. "He's here to help me with my sleepwalking," he told them.

"Oh, yeah, you need some help with that, mate," Ron said.

"Before you hurt yourself," Neville added.

"Gee thanks," Harry muttered.

"I think Ghost is awesome," Hermione said. "And what a beautiful raven!"

"I didn't ever think ravens came in anything but black," Ron said.

"She's white because she's a spirit guide," Harry informed him. "She came to him out of the Place Between Worlds." He began to eat hungrily, having some pancakes, ham, and fruit. When Hermione looked as if she was going to ask him two dozen more questions, he said, "Please, no more questions right now. I've told you everything I know and I want to eat before Transfiguration. You can ask me more after I've had lessons with him tomorrow. Or, even better, just ask Ghost yourself, I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you."

With that, he continued eating, hoping that today's classes flew by. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

**A/N:** **Sorry for the delay but I was having trouble with my eyes, I have a floater in them and it was driving me crazy and still is, but I have to adjust to it. **

**The story of Windfar and its founders is from an original series of mine, and the first book, Silver and Shadow, will hopefully be published in ebook some time in the upcoming year.**

**Good luck to all of you on the Eastern seaboard and elsewhere in the path of the Frankenstorm, which includes me, stay safe!**


	39. A Shaman's Solution

**39 **

**A Shaman's Solution**

Harry was lying in bed, listening to Severus read another of the Jungle Book stories. Unable to fall asleep for fear of sleepwalking, Harry had asked Severus to read to him. They had reached the tale where Mowgli makes the decision to leave the jungle and return to the world of men. Harry frowned when Severus read that part, his brow crinkling. "I don't get it, Uncle Sev. Why would Mowgli want to go back with people who don't like or understand him? If I were Mowgli, I'd stay in the jungle forever. He can live there as well as the animals, and they like him. Who cares if he's a man? The animals are better friends than his own people."

"Yes, I supposed you're right. But Kipling believed in a natural order of things, that like should be with like."

Harry snorted. "But that's not always so. I mean, look at me. If that were true, I'd still be with my relatives and they'd treat me better. Only they'd never and I'd throw myself off the Astronomy Tower before I went back to them, I'd don't care if they're related to me or not."

Severus ruffled his son's hair. "Relax, child. No one will ever take you from me. Or send you back to those . . . people. Not so long as there is breath in my body. Now then, turn over, and listen to one more tale, and try and sleep." Severus urged. He flipped to another part in the book and began to read _Toomai of the Elephants_. One hand gently carded Harry's hair, untangling the unruly strands and rubbing soothing circles along his spine.

Severus' deep voice combined with those two things caused Harry to fall into a deep sleep.

Severus gently closed the book and set it on Harry's night stand, along with his glasses. He kept a small light burning, just in case.

He heard a soft tap at the door and let in Skull. "Is all well with Ghost and Shriek?"

"Right as rain, Sev," Skull cawed. "How is Harry?"

"Asleep. Here's hoping he stays so."

"Shall I keep watch then?"

"If you wouldn't mind?"

Skull snorted. Then he flew silently into Harry's room, settling atop the headboard like a macabre sentinel.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry woke at quarter to seven, he felt tired, but not extremely so. As he dressed he saw Skull perched on the headboard. "Morning, Skull."

"Same to you, _bran-boy_." The raven warbled.

"Skull, did I . . . sleepwalk last night?"

The raven shook his head. "No, you slept soundly. I kept watch all night."

"I kept you up all night? I'm sorry_."_

"What are you apologizing for? I prefer the night, you know that. It was no trouble." The raven purred. "Are you all set for your first lesson with Ghost?"

"Yes." Harry said, his eyes sparkling eagerly. He carefully brushed his hair, trying to get it to lie mostly flat. "Is Uncle Sev up?"

"Hours ago. He's brewing something, I forget what. He told me to tell you there's a ham and egg sandwich on the table for you with your Nutrient Suppliment."

Harry hurried out to the sitting room, where a delicious sandwich was still steaming, along with a green vial and a cup of tea. He swallowed the potion first, then began to eat hungrily, feeding Skull bits of ham and eggs. Once he had finished, he let Skull out and then followed, taking along his bag, because he had class afterwards. The door to Snape's quarters locked automatically behind him.

He knocked gently on Ghost's quarters, and almost immediately heard an old lady's scratchy voice call, "Oh, Ghost! Avon calling!"

Harry snickered, even though he didn't quite get the reference.

A few moments later, he heard soft footsteps and then Ghost ordered, "Move out of the way, bird. They don't sell Avon here." The door was pulled open and Ghost said, "Come in, Harry."

Harry stepped inside and Ghost shut the door. "Good morning, sir . . . ah . . . I mean Ghost . . ."

"Sleep well?" queried his tutor.

"Skull says I didn't sleepwalk," Harry said.

"Good. Today I think we need to start with a standard smudging ceremony to clear and purify your magical pathways," Ghost said. "That's essential just in case the revenant managed to leave behind any harmful influences."

"Harmful influences?"

"Have a seat on the couch," invited the shaman.

The boy sat down, his hands folded in his lap. He gazed questioningly at his tutor.

"When the revenant came and attacked you and your teachers, it used its own fell power to harm you. It must have been a singularly powerful spirit to do such damage to so many at once."

"Severus says he thinks the revenant actually contained a spirit of the strongest dark wizard in Britain and Europe, called Lord Voldemort."

"Ah. Even I've heard of that one." Ghost nodded. "If he was involved, then we definitely need the purification ceremony. Have you ever done one before?"

"No, Ghost."

"Okay. The ceremony is designed to get your spirit back in harmony with your body, and remove any traces of dark magic from you. I use the sacred herbs of sage, white pine, cedar, lavender, and sweet grass to cleanse your spirit."

"Will it hurt?"

"Not at all. Once it's done, it will set up a protective barrier and prevent any sort of dark magic from entering you." Ghost rose and walked over to the small altar with the incense and the prayer rug. "Give me a minute."

He lit the incense with a casual wave and began to waft the smoke towards himself. Then he knelt on the rug and began making a few passes with his hands in circular patterns while chanting in Mesquakie. Soon colored smoke was funneling down over him.

Harry squinted, but Ghost's figure was completely obscured by smoke. Harry just sat there, watching. Abruptly the smoke cleared and Harry could see his tutor, still kneeling, with his hands arced above his head, fingers touching. Ghost held that position for another moment, then brought his hands down to his sides.

He rose smoothly to his feet, a twisted bundle of smoking incense in his hand and turned. "Come here, Harry."

Harry got to his feet and approached uncertainly.

"Step onto the rug and kneel there," Ghost instructed softly. "That's right."

Ghost took the smudge stick and began waving it over Harry, up and down and side to side, in the four cardinal directions. Then he began to chant in English, so Harry could understand what he was saying. "I ask the elements to help me cleanse and purify all within this sphere and banish the taint of darkness forever from Harry James Potter. By the power of the sacred sage, lavender, cedar, white pine, and sweetgrass, let your spirit be renewed, your heart be pure, your magic unbound. Let any sins you have committed be washed away. You are healed. You are renewed. You are protected. I, the Ghost Who Walks, call upon the power of the Creator, and surround you with Light."

As he spoke, Harry saw a fiery nimbus surround the shaman, and he felt the healing power of the tall wizard flow through him. It was like a breath of fresh air, a cascade of purest water, the gentle heat of the summer sun, and the soft caress of a father's hand. A feeling of overwhelming peace surrounded him, so profound that Harry felt tears come to his eyes. He felt the protection wrap him about him, and he snuggled into it like a fuzzy blanket.

Ghost smudged him four times, four being the sacred number in Native American tradition. The incense slowly burned down until it was a mere stub and Ghost flexed his hand and the remainder of the stick vanished.

"How do you feel now, Harry?"

Harry inhaled the sweet scented smoke and then said, "That was . . . I've never . . . it's amazing! I feel great! No, better than that. I . . . don't know how to describe it."

"Do you feel calm? Less anxious? Relaxed?"

"All of that . . . and more."

"Good. That's how you should feel after this ceremony." He helped Harry up.

"Ghost? Can you do that . . . ceremony to anyone?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I was just thinking . . . Uncle Sev, Lena, and Dumbledore fought the revenant too. I think . . . I think it hurt them and this might help. What do you think?"

"If the revenant hurt them in any way, then the purification ritual will definitely help them. I shall speak to them about it later. It's good that you are showing concern for your teachers. It shows you have a generous heart." Ghost said approvingly. "Among my people, a shaman should always strive to give back to those in need. Your mentor has taught you well."

Harry felt a rush of pride. "Well, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't help them, they almost died fighting it. And they've all helped me, saved my life even. 'Specially Uncle Severus. He took me away from my horrible relatives and gave me a home and a place to belong."

Ghost nodded. He could see quite clearly that Harry loved Severus like a father, and the dark-haired sorcerer loved the boy like a son. He wondered if Severus had ever considered adopting the boy. In Windfar, an adopted child was given the same rights and privileges as a blood child, including inheritance. But he could dwell on that later. Right now he needed to focus on Harry's Traveling issues.

Once again he seated himself on the couch and had Harry sit beside him. "Now then, I know that Travelling is a rare ability on this side of the ocean, according to the Ravenmistress and Severus. That's not true where I'm from. In Windfar and elsewhere, the Traveling gift is well known and many have it. How did you learn you had it?"

Harry told him about Marlene, his crazy "godmother" and how she had captured and held him prisoner. He told Ghost about the Codex, and how it had identified the Traveling power within him and taught him how to use it.

"Ah. So the only formal instruction you had was a page of a book? You had no real teacher?"

"No, not really. That's why Uncle Sev went looking for you."

"And the first time you Traveled you were under a lot of stress, right? You were desperate to escape that evil witch keeping you prisoner."

"You can say that again. I would have done anything to get away from her." Harry shuddered.

Ghost looked thoughtful. "And sleepwalking is often a sign of anxiety." He tapped his chin. "I believe I know why your power has gone haywire."

"Why?"

"Because you have never learned to use it properly."

"I don't understand. The book's instructions worked."

"Yes, but Traveling is more than telling you how to use your ability," Ghost explained. "When you first learned to Travel, you did so under desperate circumstances. You were trying to escape your crazed godmother. The second time you Traveled was also out of a desperate need to save your mentor. Because of that your mind has come to associate Travelling with fear and anxiety. That shouldn't be your impulse for using your power. You should associate Travelling with a pleasant experience, not with a life or death situation. When you sleepwalk, do you remember what you dream?"

"Uh . . . not really. It's all fuzzy. Sometimes I can remember where I've been, but not why."

"All right. As I said before, I think the sleepwalking is born of anxiety, and once we put that to rest, it should stop. I can detect no evil influences upon you. So . . . we begin. Have you done meditation before, Harry?"

"Some. Uncle Severus showed me how to breathe and be calm."

"Good. Let's start with some counted breathing."

Together, Harry and Ghost counted five breaths and held the last for a count of ten. They did that eight times, until Harry felt relaxed. Then Ghost had Harry find his center, that core of serenity and magical power, a secret room in his head where he could go to be at peace.

"Have you found your center?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Stay there and listen to me. The first thing you ought to know is that you are a bridge between worlds, that of the one we live on and the Place Between Worlds, sometimes called the astral plane. The Otherworld is a dangerous place for the young Traveler and not to be treated lightly. You never should have gone there without a spirit guide. You might have been lost."

"Uh . . . I didn't really have a choice."

"I understand, but now you do." Ghost said. "You should always make sure you are in a safe place before you Travel, somewhere warded so nothing can harm your body. Here is such a place. I'm going to Travel into the Place Between Worlds first and meet you there."

"Okay," Harry murmured.

Ghost quickly sank into a trance and slipped through the boundary.

It took Harry a moment more to follow, drifting up from his body and through the invisible barrier that separated the astral from the material plane. He found Ghost standing in a field surrounded by a wilderness with mountains all around. The image was so vivid that Harry almost could feel the breeze through the fir trees and hear the birds singing. Ghost himself seemed to glow with a bright luminescence and Harry stared at his tutor in awe. "Where . . . where are we?"

"In a safe place," Ghost answered. "Nothing can harm you here. This small corner of the Otherworld is protected from the predators that roam the spirit realm, like the Devourers and revenants."

"Is this . . . what your home looks like?" asked Harry curiously.

"Yes, this is what Windfar looks like without the settlement. Here you can learn how to maneuver in the spirit world and not worry about attracting the wrong sort of attention."

"Like one of those devourer things?"

"Yes. Like the material realm, the spirit world has both evil and good in it, predator and prey. A Spirit Devourer feeds off of the energy of those weaker than it, it isn't truly evil, anymore than a bear or shark is, but it is dangerous, especially to youngsters like yourself. One of the first things I shall teach you about Travelling is how to protect yourself. When you look at me, what do you see?"

"You . . . you're glowing."

"Good. That glow is my spiritual essence—my magic. The stronger the glow, the stronger a presence in the astral. But watch."

Harry kept his eyes fixed upon his mentor.

To his shock, the glow began to dim and then it faded altogether.

"Now what do you see?"

Harry found he had to squint to see Ghost now, the shaman was just an outline against the wilderness background. "You . . .it's like you've disappeared . . . kind of."

"Right. I've camouflaged my aura so now I blend in, and make it hard for predators to spot me."

"How do you do it?"

"I use my imagination, and will my aura to dim. Close your eyes, Harry, and think about your aura slowly dimming, until you've pulled it all inside yourself."

Harry obeyed, shutting his eyes and thinking about himself putting on an invisibility cloak, hiding himself from view. He opened his eyes. "Did it work?"

"Somewhat. You need to concentrate more."

Harry tried again.

After five times he managed to get his aura halfway dimmed.

"Good try. We'll practice some more tonight," Ghost said. "That's enough for today. Let's go back."

Harry gently felt his way back down the silver cord and re-entered his body. He blinked, a little disorientated. He felt slightly tired, but otherwise was fine.

"How do you feel, Harry?"

"A little tired."

"That's to be expected. You did well. Once you've mastered the masking skill, we'll practice moving from place to place."

"I can do that," Harry said.

"You can do it under duress, but what about just doing so for fun? That's what you need to practice." Ghost said calmly. "All right, I think it's almost time for you to join the other students in the hall."

Harry checked his watch. It was a little after eight. It was strange, but he felt as if no time had passed at all, much less a whole hour. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Um . . . I'll see you after dinner, Ghost."

"Seven o'clock," his teacher reminded him.

Harry waved as he left.

Since he had already eaten breakfast, he wasn't hungry, but he was bombarded by questions from his friends about Ghost's lesson.

"You actually participated in an Indian ceremony?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Did you like dance around a campfire?" Ron asked.

"Did I what?" Harry stared at him.

"You know . . . like in the books," Ron mimed an Indian war cry.

"Weasley, can you get any more ridiculous?" Draco snorted.

"What? I was just asking," Ron said, glaring at the Slytherin.

"No, he did a smudging ceremony to purify me from evil influences." Harry explained, telling them about the herbs and how refreshing the ceremony made him feel.

"That sounds lovely, Harry," Hermione smiled. "Did you know that shamans were also priests as well as wizards in Indian culture?"

"No, but I guess it makes sense," Harry said. When Ghost had been performing the ceremony, he had gotten the feeling that the shaman wasn't just casting a spell, but that the magic was also an intensely personal thing.

"I've heard that shamans can change shape," Neville said diffidently.

"Like an Animagus," Draco stated. "Can Ghost?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Harry shrugged. There was a lot he didn't know about the shaman. He changed the subject, switching to talking about their finals, especially their History of Magic exam.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Before they began their second set of exercises, Harry asked Ghost about being able to transform into an animal. "Is that something anyone can do over in Windfar, or only some of you?"

"Shape shifting is a rather common ability among my people, it comes easier to us because of how close we are to nature, I guess. Most shamans can only shift to their _Manitou_, though, and not another form unless they're very skilled."

"Can you?"

"Yes, I can become a raven. My teacher, Swift Fox, was one who could shift to three forms, fox, pheasant, and turtle. But he was a rare breed."

"Could you show me sometime?"

"I shall, but right now we need to concentrate on you, not me." Ghost said firmly.

Once again they tranced and entered the spirit realm, where Harry practiced making himself invisible. Finally, he succeeded, earning Ghost's approval. Then the shaman showed Harry how to construct a shield made of air and will that would deflect or block any creature, like the revenant, from trying to feed off him.

The shield was harder to construct, it required intense concentration and focus. Harry didn't even come close to forming a large enough one that lesson.

He was rather discouraged, until Ghost said, "You need to be patient, Harry. First you must walk before you can run . . . or fly."

Harry supposed that was true, and felt a little better.

There came a sharp rapping at the door, followed by a low voice crooning, "Oh, Ghostie dear, 'tis I, your one true love!"

The shaman rolled his eyes and snickered. Then he waved a hand and the door swung open to admit Shriek and Skull. "Come in, mischief squared."

The two ravens flew in, Shriek perching on Ghost's shoulder and nipping his ear playfully while Skull landed on Harry and warbled, "Playtime's over, my son, and school's begun! Homework waits for no one, soonest done, then have fun!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is that a hint that I should go and do my homework?"

"Was my poem not explicit enough?" queried the black raven. "I thought it was pretty good for a first poem."

"It was first rate, Skull," Harry assured the raven, stroking the black feathers. "I just wish History of Magic weren't boring enough to put a stone to sleep."

"That bad, huh?" Ghost said sympathetically.

Harry grimaced. "You have no idea. It's taught by a ghost, a real one, named Binns and all he does is recite lists of facts. He could make dead people wish they died again."

"Why don't you banish him then?" asked Shriek.

"Beats me." Heaving a sigh, Harry rose and said, "Guess I better get going. Uncle Sev hates when I'm late."

"Maybe he can help you study for your test," Ghost suggested. "In the meantime, I think I shall pay a visit to your Headmaster and see if I can help him with a smudging ceremony."

Harry sighed enviously and bid the shaman and the raven goodbye. As he made his way out the door, Shriek called, "Have fun, Harry!"

"Gee thanks," Harry grunted as the door shut. Studying for History of Magic was about as fun as getting a spanking with Snape's paddle.

He arrived back at Snape's quarters to find Severus grading a batch of fifth year tests. His guardian looked up as Harry entered, noting the rather sulky look on his ward's face. "Why are you looking so glum? Did your lesson not go well?"

"The lesson was great. I didn't want to come back and study for boring History of Magic," Harry grumped.

"Studying is a necessary evil," remarked the professor as he wrote in red ink upon a test.

"Like death, taxes, and stupid people," Skull added.

Harry groaned. "But it puts me to sleep, Uncle Sev. How can I learn anything?"

Severus set down his quill. "What are you studying?"

"The Goblin Civil Wars of 1603."

"In 1603, Queen Elizabeth ceased to be," Skull piped up. "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in 1776—"

"Skullduggery, enough! Reciting dates in Muggle history isn't going to help him," Severus ordered irritably.

"But Sev, it's important for the boy to have a well rounded education," the irrepressible raven said.

Severus fastened a sharp glare at the bird, then turned to Harry. "Turn to the chapter you need to study and outline the major points of the war—the causes, the participants, and the outcome. Also any major battles. That should help you focus."

Harry huffed and opened his textbook. He tried to do as Snape had suggested, but he kept getting distracted by wondering about what Ghost was doing to Dumbledore. Would the smudging ceremony work on the Headmaster? Would Ghost be able to heal Dumbledore, even a little?

"Harry, staring off into space isn't going to help you," Severus said pointedly. "If you aren't going to study, maybe you ought to go to bed."

"No way! I'm not a baby, Uncle Severus!" Harry protested.

"Then start studying like I told you."

"I am! It's just so dull!" complained Harry. He turned back to his text, trying to do what Severus had said.

Skull began snoring loudly.

Harry giggled.

"Skullduggery!" warned Severus.

"The vibes alone from that book are enough to send me into a coma. Have mercy, Sev!"

"Stop encouraging him, bird. Harry, keep studying." Severus turned back to his own grading.

Skull stuck his tongue out at his master.

Harry muffled his laughter in his sleeve.

Then he started to take notes on the main points, if he didn't at least attempt to study, Severus would begin lecturing, and that was the last thing Harry needed. If he didn't get a good grade, Severus would not be happy.

He continued to write, rubbing his eyes.

The raven began to whistle Dixie, which Shriek had taught him that morning.

Severus gritted his teeth. "Bird, you are asking to be made into a wall decoration."

"Yes, massah. Dis ole bird be waitin' for da Lord to call him t'glory! We pickin' de cotton in de field, massah!"

Severus ignored the raven. It was either that or taking a broom to the wily bird.

Finally Harry had listed all the pertinent facts in his notebook, but when he tried to study them, he found his eyes kept crossing. After reading the same paragraph three times and nodding off repeatedly, Harry gave up and pushed the book aside. It was nine thirty and Harry was sick and tired of trying to memorize what Viktor Grimfang had said to his followers. Like who really cared anyway?

"Uncle Sev, I'm going to bed," he announced.

Even so, he tossed and turned, fretting about his upcoming test in a subject he loathed. Finally he fell asleep and in his dreams he ran through a field of cotton, picking up pages of a book growing on there and trying to put them together again while behind him came a shadowy figure cracking a whip.

The dream was so vivid and eerie that it fueled Harry's anxiety and all at once he was on his feet, sleepwalking.

**A/N: Hope you all like this part. I just regained power again after the nor'easter dumped snow on NJ. This weather is horrible! I'm depressed, so please leave me some reviews to cheer me up. Thanks!**


	40. Discussions

**40**

**Discussions**

Skullduggery felt a familiar quiver run through him as he sensed Harry slip free of his body and enter the astral. The raven, perched upon the back of Snape's recliner, came instantly alert and cried, "Sev, Harry's sleepwalking again!"

Severus, who was in the middle of writing a pithy comment on a student's homework, scrawled a jagged line across the page. He snarled a swear word and vanished the mistake then set his quill down and stood. "Call Ghost," he ordered the raven, moving across the room to Harry's bedroom, where he could hear the boy banging at the door.

The Potions Master opened the door and found his ward all blank eyed and lifting a hand to pound on the door again. Severus gently caught Harry's hand and lowered it, saying softly, "Harry, it's all right. You need to go back to bed, Harry. You need sleep. Skull, can you sense him in the astral?"

"Yes, shall I go to him?"

Before Severus could answer, there came a knock at the door.

"Severus, it's me, Ghost."

Severus turned and gestured, the door opened and Ghost strode in with Shriek flapping overhead.

The shaman took in the situation in a single glance. Then he dropped bonelessly to the couch, sending his spirit soaring effortlessly into the Place Between Worlds. The tall wizard's body slumped to one side as if passed out. Shriek vanished as well, crossing over fully as only a raven could.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Harry knew he wasn't supposed to Travel without permission from Ghost or accompaniment by one of the ravens, but his sleeping self refused to stay put. Restless and anxious, it wanted to roam, and so it did, meandering in the fields and plains of the astral, figuring the longer it wandered the less chance it would have of taking the dreaded History of Magic final. It was a ridiculous resolution to the problem, eventually he would have to take the test, he had no more chance of avoiding it than a fish did of getting wet. But right then he was not thinking logically, and his subconscious thought it a perfectly valid solution.

Vaguely, Harry realized his corporeal self was also inclined to wander, but somehow that didn't seem important right then. He was so focused on avoiding the subject he detested that he was unaware of the danger that stalked him.

Suddenly, there came a low snarl from behind him, and Harry turned to see an odd creature crouching in the grass. It was about seven feet tall with silvery blue fur and the rangy body of a large cat, muscles rippling beneath the coarse fur. It had a long snout, similar to a wolf's, filled with huge fangs and it had six claws on each foot. It gave a strange high pitched whine, similar to that of a dog when it spots its quarry, which scaled upwards into an eerie laugh, like an insane person's.

Instinctively,. Harry backed away, sensing that this creature meant him harm. He wasn't positive, but suspected this vicious looking creature was the Spirit Devourer Ghost had warned him repeatedly about. Acting on instinct, Harry conjured a Shield Charm, surrounding himself with a bubble of protective energy.

The Spirit Devourer half-snarled, half-laughed and then lunged with terrifying swiftness at the vulnerable young Traveler standing at the edge of the meadow.

Harry had never seen anything, except perhaps the revenant, move as fast. One moment it was across the grassy verge, the next on top of him, clawing and gnawing at the delicate blue shield. Harry could feel the shield quivering under the relentless assault and he poured more magic into the construct.

A loud screech resonated through the air and something white smote the clawing screaming Devourer right between the shoulderblades, knocking it off balance.

"Shriek?" Harry cried, amazed at seeing the white raven here. He looked immediately for her master, since one rarely saw Shriek without Ghost being far behind.

Sure enough, the shaman stepped out of thin air, cradling his staff in one hand. Quick as lightning striking, he brought the staff to bear, and a brilliant green light shot from its tip, blasting into the Devourer and sending it flying across the meadow.

Harry watched in awe as the Devourer, fur smoking from the magical blast, got to its feet and sprang at the shaman, screaming a battle cry. He was sure it would tear Ghost apart now.

But the resourceful shaman was prepared, and brought his staff about in a circular sweep, conjuring a shield that repelled the monster with stunning force.

Knocked on its back, Shriek flew down and tred to peck out its eyes while Ghost chanted a banishing charm.

The Devourer thrashed and writhed, but Ghost's magic was too strong, and soon it had been sent far away through the ether where it wouldn't bother anyone.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and banished his own shield charm. Then he looked at his mentor, somewhat apprehensively. Was he in trouble?

But Ghost did not look angry. He eyed Harry calmly, then said, "Let's find a better place to talk."

"Right on, brother!" Shriek exclaimed. "This place stinks of fried Devourer . . .ugh!" The white raven flew down and perched atop Ghost's staff.

Harry just nodded and came to stand beside his mentor.

Ghost took his hand and the world blurred and then they were somewhere else.

A place with trees and flowers and a stream running cool and clear through it. Ghost sat down and indicated Harry should do so also. Harry did so, then said, "I . . . I didn't even see that . . . umm . . . monster until it attacked me."

"Spirit Devourers are notorious for ambushing their prey, especially younglings like you," Ghost said calmly.

Now Harry felt very stupid. "I'm sorry. I don't even know how I got here. I fell asleep and then . . ."

"What were you feeling before you went to sleep?" Ghost queried gently. "Were you feeling anxious? Upset?"

Harry tried to think about it. "Umm . . . I was kind of . . . nervous I guess. I hate studying for History of Magic, it's so bloody boring. But my uncle insisted and so . . . I made myself."

"I see. Were you worried about the mark you might get?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to fail, then Uncle Sev will be disappointed and mad at me. But I just feel like studying for it's a waste of time. So I guess I just . . . ran away from it."

"Yes, I'd say so," agreed the shaman. "Have you ever considered talking about it with Severus?"

Harry heaved a long suffering sigh. "Well, no. 'Cause he'd just tell me I have to learn it and that's that."

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "I mean, not complaining about the work, but asking him for help." He doubted if Severus, no matter how strict he might seem, would refuse to help his ward.

"Umm . . . no."

"Perhaps that would be a better alternative than taking a stroll through the astral?" the shaman reproved.

"Yeah. But I don't know how to stop myself from doing it."

"I do. I can set a few mind blocks, so you can't access the Place Between Worlds . . . temporarily."

"Oh. I guess that would be all right. Ghost, how did you defeat that thing?"

"A Devourer is easily distracted, and that one was only paying attention to you. It only paid attention to me when I hurt it."

"And me too!" Shriek reminded.

"You too, my fine warrior," agreed Ghost, ruffling her ivory feathers. He looked back at Harry. "What happened to making yourself disappear?"

"I forgot," he admitted, flushing.

"We'll have to practice that some more," his teacher said. "But for now, you need to be getting on back to bed. You're losing sleep."

"I am? But isn't my body resting?"

Ghost shook his head. "No. It's sleepwalking. Shriek, go back and tell Severus to make Harry's body go back to bed. I want him there before I let his spirit return."

"At once, O Great One," Shriek, said, giving her master a mock bow before vanishing.

Ghost and Harry waited several long moments before Shriek returned and said it was done.

"Come along, Harry," Ghost urged, taking Harry's hand and starting to walk forward. "Concentrate on your body."

Harry did and before he could say Snitch he was back in his body, lying on his bed. He opened his eyes to find Severus, Skull, and Ghost standing at his bedside.

Severus put a cool hand on his forehead, looking relieved. Then he murmured, "Harry, go to sleep. You're safe now."

Harry gave his guardian a small smile and whispered, "Night, Uncle Sev," before shutting his eyes.

He heard Ghost chanting something in his native tongue, then felt a sweet warmth settle over him. Before he realized it, he had fallen asleep.

The two sorcerers made their way out of the room, leaving a small lamp on.

"What was that you cast on him?" queried Severus. "A Sleeping Charm?"

"No. It was a charm to prevent him from accessing the astral in his sleeping state," Ghost replied. "It does, however, tend to make one sleepy." He moved over to sit on the couch.

Severus summoned two cups of herbal tea and offered one to the shaman, who took it gratefully. "Did he say what triggered this episode?"

"I believe his sleepwalking is caused by anxiety." Ghost began. "His subconscious mind reacts to stress by attempting to flee from it."

"Anxiety?" Severus repeated. Harry had never struck him as the nervous type.

"It has to do with what caused him to Travel in the first place. When he first did it, he was seeking an escape from his evil godmother. The second time he did so he was trying to reach you. Both times he was under a good deal of stress and anxiety, and so his subconscious mind now associates anxiety with Traveling. Thus, the sleepwalking and Traveling episodes."

Severus frowned. "When you put it that way . . . it makes sense. Did he tell you why he Traveled this time?"

"Yes. He mentioned his loathing of a certain subject—History of Magic. He was nervous he wouldn't be able to learn the material and would fail the exam, which would make you angry with him."

"Well, I would be upset, naturally, but I would never . . . hurt him over a bad mark," Severus said, sounding hurt. "Surely he doesn't think I would!" Did Harry trust him so little, after all this time?

"I don't know. All I know is that he was anxious, and when I asked him if he ever thought about going to you for help, he said no."

"He could come to me anytime, Ghost!" objected Severus.

"You know that, and I know that, but Harry doesn't. Or he's forgotten," Ghost added after seeing the hurt look in the other's eyes. "Maybe you should talk to him about it tomorrow. Knowing he can come to you for help might ease his anxiety a great deal. I'll work with him some more tomorrow on his masking technique."

"I will speak to him about it first thing tomorrow," Severus said firmly. The last thing he wanted Harry to think was that he couldn't come to his guardian if he needed help. "Thank you for bringing him back."

"No thanks are necessary, Severus. It's what I'm here for," Ghost said modestly. He tapped his finger thoughtfully alongside his nose. "Please, forgive me my insatiable curiosity, but I can't help wondering why you didn't just adopt the boy instead of becoming his guardian?"

Severus looked slightly uncomfortable, and Ghost bit his lip. "Forgive me, I should mind my own business . . ."

"No, it's a fair question," Severus found himself saying. Oddly enough, he didn't feel awkward telling the shaman about his past, perhaps because he sensed the other man would not judge him for mistakes he'd made as a young man. "My situation is a unique one . . . I once was a spy for Albus Dumbledore, though before that I almost succumbed to the false promises of the fiend you know as Voldemort . . ."

Ghost listened without interruption to Severus' story, his face impassive.

" . . . and so, I had a hard enough time getting people to accept me as Potter's legal guardian, never mind his adoptive father. I also didn't want to push him into anything. The guardianship seemed enough, and I wasn't sure I was equal even to that, never mind a true adoption."

"And now?"

"Now I feel . . .as though I could be a decent parent. If he'll have me."

"He admires you greatly, you know," Ghost said. "From what I've seen, he cares about your opinion a good deal. Among my people, an adopted child is treated the same as a blood relation once the ceremony is completed. And many a shaman has adopted an orphaned apprentice. Family is very important to the _Mesquakie_, we don't believe anyone should be without one. A person without family is a lost one indeed, and so we do everything we can to give a person back what he or she lost."

"A noble sentiment."

"And a necessary one. You and Harry, forgive me for being so bold, belong together. You both need each other. Now that you no longer need to fear Voldemort, I recommend you consider adopting him, Severus. It'll grant him a sense of permanency which he badly needs."

"You're right, Ghost. But he needs to agree to it."

"Is there a reason you think he won't?"

"Perhaps. I can never be like his real father."

"True, but since the kid never knew his real dad, I doubt he'll be comparing the two of you much."

Severus supposed that made sense, but he was still nervous. Adoption was a big step for both of them. He already regarded Harry as his son, so did he need to make it official? Was Ghost right, and would Harry feel more like a part of a family if he did so? He knew the only way to get an answer to his questions was to ask Harry. If only he didn't feel so vulnerable! Had it been anyone else, he would have rolled his eyes at getting all worked up over the opinion of an eleven year old boy. He was thirty-two, for Merlin's sake, not fifteen! Yet he still feared Harry's rejection, despite everything.

"Don't worry, Sev," Skullduggery broke in from where he was perched on the couch back, cuddling next to Shriek, who was asleep with her head tucked beneath her wing. "Ghost is right. Harry loves you. He would consider it an honor to be adopted into your family."

"Do you truly think so, Skullduggery?" Severus asked softly, hesitantly.

The raven bobbed his head in an affirmative. "Yes, Sev. But don't take my word for it. Ask Harry. Then you'll see I'm right . . . as usual." Skull began to preen himself.

"Vain bird!" Severus mock-scolded. "I suppose that's the only answer. It appears we'll be having quite the discussion tomorrow."

"I can't wait to hear it!" Skull chirruped, his black eyes gleaming. "I just love a good heart-to-heart talk between fathers and sons, don't you?"

"Whoever said you'd be invited to hear it?" Severus demanded.

"Of course I'm invited to hear it!" Skull said indignantly. "I'm your familiar, we share everything."

"Right," Severus snorted.

"You'll have to tell me how it went," Ghost said teasingly, his eyes dancing with suppressed merriment.

"The both of you are worse gossips than teenage girls!" Severus scowled.

Both raven and shaman chuckled, neither of them dismayed by Snape's label.

Severus bit back a groan. "Very well. You can listen, Skullduggery, as long as you give your word not to repeat anything to anyone save Ghost."

"But . . . but . . . Severus!"

"That's non-negotiable."

The raven heaved a tortured sigh. "Spoilsport! Agreed!"

Severus relaxed a bit. At least if the talk didn't go well, he wouldn't be the subject of pitying or sneering glances.

Ghost yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'll see you in the morning, Severus." He gently placed his empty mug on the table before rising and lifting Shriek onto his wrist. Cradling the white raven to his chest, he quietly made his way out of the room, leaving Severus alone to ponder the wisdom of asking Harry to be his adopted son.

**A/N: First, I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans.**

**Second, should Sev adopt Harry?**

**Third, sorry this took so long to update, but I've been having more eye trouble and have recenltly learned as of two days ago that I have type 2 diabetes. Hopefully it will correct itself once I'm on meds. Please review so I know you're still reading. Thanks!**


	41. Understandings

**41**

**Understanding**

Harry woke the next morning feeling well after his adventure of last night. He was glad that Ghost and Shriek had been there to stop the Spirit Devourer from eating him and had helped him get back to his body. He hoped Severus was not angry with him, though he recalled that the wizard had not been so last night, merely concerned that Harry go to sleep. And really, it wasn't Harry's fault he sleepwalked!

Harry yawned and slipped from his bed to dress. He had to wear his uniform and robe, even though he wasn't in most of his classes. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw it was seven in the morning, a little early, but Harry had always been one to get up with the dawn.

He padded out of his room with his tie in his hand and his top button of his shirt undone, he hated wearing his tie and usually left it to the last minute.

Skullduggery was perched on the back of Severus' chair, idly preening his master. "Good morning, bran-boy! Sleep well?"

"Morning, Skull," Harry murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Severus looked up from the paper and raised an eyebrow. "Harry, come here," he ordered. "You look like you've just rolled out of bed and threw everything on."

"I did," his ward replied, half cheekily. He walked over to Severus.

Severus's hands straightened his shirt, tucking it into his waistband. Then he went to button the shirt and Harry squirmed away from him.

"No, please! It chokes me, I can't eat with it buttoned, or my tie on either. Can't it wait?"

Severus sighed. "I can make it fit so it doesn't choke you, but all right. Leave it for now and eat some breakfast." He gestured to the table, which had rolls, butter, jam, scrambled eggs, ham, and bacon on a platter, along with tea.

Harry sat and took some of everything. His appetite was good now that he was allowed to eat regular meals, though Severus did still give him the Nutrient potion. He drank the familiar vial down, then began eating. He ate half the plate before he asked softly, "Uncle Sev, are you mad at me for last night?"

Severus set down his paper and looked at his ward. "No. Why would I be? Ghost has told me your nocturnal wandering is caused by stress and anxiety. What has you so stressed, Harry? Don't be afraid to tell me. I know what stress does and would never mock you for it."

Harry hesitated. Ghost's advice came back to him, he should trust his guardian. "Ummm . . . well . . . I wasn't feeling so good about History of Magic. It's just so boring the way Binns lectures. I try and listen, but I always fall asleep when he talks."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Severus conceded. "Have you tried reading the book?"

Harry nodded. "That makes me fall asleep too. Why does it have to be so boring?"

"It doesn't," Severus said then, recalling how his mother made it interesting by telling stories about the different historical people and places. "Perhaps I can help you, if you want."

Harry nodded frantically. "Please, sir! Otherwise I'll get a T or something and then you'll lock me in my room forever."

Skull snickered but remained uncharacteristically silent, letting Severus take control of the conversation.

Severus shook his head. "Why would you think that? Is that how I normally punish you?"

"No, but . . . it's a grade and teachers are always crazed over marks."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Just how many teachers do you know to make that statement?"

Harry thought about it. "Umm . . . well . . ."

"The fact is that I am not crazed over marks, I am crazed over a student living up to his potential. If you have a bad mark, I will not beat you over it, or use some other form of outlandish punishment. What I _will_ do is ask why you received such a mark, and speak to both you and your teacher. If the mark is a result of misunderstanding or confusion, you shall not be punished, but helped along. By me or a tutor. If, however, the bad mark is a result of laziness or failure to hand in homework, you will be in trouble until you bring the mark up."

"What—what sort of trouble?"

"You will be made to study instead of socialize, and be forbidden several extra curricular activities, such as Quidditch, until you bring the mark back up. I think that is more than fair. What do you think?"

Harry grimaced. He hated the no Quidditch part. But it _was_ fair, much as he hated to admit it. "It's all right," he admitted reluctantly.

Severus looked at him intently. "You _do_ understand that you may come to me anytime you need help with a subject, be it potions or History of Magic, Harry. It is my duty as a professor as well as your guardian to make sure you succeed in school. Please do not hesitate to do so."

Harry stared back at his guardian, who had risked so much for him, and felt a warm cozy feeling inside. He had never had anyone tell him that before, he had always been left to fend for himself. "Thanks, Uncle Severus," he found himself saying. "Before, when I lived with the Dursleys, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, they . . ." he trailed off abruptly, unsure whether he wanted to reveal this particular trial.

"What did they do?" Severus queried in a low voice.

"Yes, tell us!" croaked Skull. "Don't keep us in suspense! I hate it!"

Harry began at last. "They . . . yelled at me and punished me with time in the cupboard if I got better marks than Dudley," he said quietly, his head down. "I'm smarter than he is, but it wasn't hard to get better marks—he never did anything, and practically failed his subjects. But his parents thought he was wonderful and the teachers 'misunderstood' him, so they always forgave him his terrible marks and they hated when I showed him up."

Severus was frowning sharply, and Skull looked ready to fly to Privet Drive.

"Those wretched people!" the raven cawed. "They deserve to be chased through he woods and have their eyes pecked out!"

"They are the definition of idiocy," Severus remarked caustically. "People like that know not the value of a true teacher or their subjects, and deserve to be mediocre all their lives, ignorant as the day is long. You have no need to hold yourself to their standard, Harry, indeed you should do your best in all subjects, which is what I expect of you, since you are intelligent and absorb information well."

"I do?" Harry had supposed, after years of ill treatment, that he was only average.

"Of course you do!" Severus said, a tad bit irritably. "You have your mother's brains and drive to learn. Hell, even your scapegrace father was a decent scholar when he put his mind to it. You are just as smart and you can learn anything if you put your mind to it—look ay what you have done already!"

"Don't sell yourself short, _bran_-boy," said Skull.

"Skull is right. You have a good head on your shoulders, Mr. Potter. Do yourself a favor and use it." Severus encouraged. "Don't be mediocre, like your blockhead cousin. Am I understood?"

Harry wrinkled his nose. "Ugh! I never want to be like Dudley."

"I am glad to hear it. For there is nothing worse than the waste of a good mind," Severus replied. "Now, once you have finished your breakfast, we shall go over the chapters in History of Magic. Stop making faces and groaning, before I assume you have a stomachache and dose you with a spoonful of castor oil." He smirked slightly as Harry blanched. "My way of learning history is quite different from Professor Binns, as you shall see."

Harry obeyed, eating his food and then getting his book out, he sure as Merlin didn't want a dose of castor oil, whatever that was! He suspected it was as nasty as a potion, if Snape was threatening him with it.

He soon discovered that Severus' way of teaching history was ten times better than anything Binns ever said. The Potions Master made the three chapters into a kind of story, using the historical figures as the principle characters, and encouraged Harry to listen and remember all the significant dates and things involved. By the time an hour had gone by, Harry felt like he actually had a handle on History of Magic and he didn't feel like running and hiding in the Forbidden Forest. Instead he felt almost good about his upcoming final.

Severus shut the book with a snap and said, "There! You have only two chapters left to study before your exam. We can study them later if you wish."

"Could we study them with Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Neville? They're probably as confused as I was," Harry said.

Severus grimaced. Tutoring Harry was one thing, tutoring a whole gang of kids quite another. "What am I, a public storyteller?" he groused.

"Yes!" hissed Skull impudently.

"No, you're the best History of Magic tutor I ever knew," Harry cried. "Please, sir?"

Faced with those imploring green eyes, reminding him far too much of Lily, Severus reluctantly agreed. "7 o'clock sharp in my quarters tomorrow, no tardiness accepted."

Harry whooped, grinning.

Severus scowled. "Quit yelling like a heathen, for Merlin's sake! The things I do for you. Unbelievable!"

"Because you love me, right?" Harry teased. "Or you are actually a nice guy underneath that scowl."

"Bite your tongue, Mr. Insolence!"

"Then I'd hurt myself," Harry replied, smirking.

"Come here, you little reprobate, and let me fix that tie," Severus growled, half-seriously.

"Aww, but Uncle Sev . . .!"

"Shall I count to three?"

"No!" Harry yelped. "I'm not a baby!"

"_Now_, young man!" Severus pointed to a spot in front of him.

Harry shuffled over with his tie. He hated ties, and he hated shirts that had buttons on the collar, and he knew he was going to be choked no matter what Severus did, it was always so . . . all of a sudden he was wearing his tie and neither it nor his shirt was choking him. They felt perfectly natural, so unlike the times when he put his own tie on.

"How do you feel, Harry?" Skull asked.

"I feel great, Skull! It doesn't choke me anymore. Thanks, Uncle Sev!"

He threw his arms about the startled professor and hugged him.

Severus found he didn't need prompting, but hugged the boy back on principal now. "It's only a tie," he said gruffly, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Best you get your things and go meet Ghost. It's not good to keep a mentor waiting."

Harry released his guardian and said suddenly, "Sometimes . . . I wish I could . . . be your real family."

Severus froze. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh . . . it's just . . . being your ward is great but . . . you need a family, Uncle Severus. Like a real nephew or . . . a son. Someone you can teach all your magic to and . . . that you can give your stuff to when you die. Not that I want you to die, but . . . well . . ."

"Harry, are you saying you want me to . . . adopt you?" Severus asked, hardly daring to hope.

Harry swallowed, unable to speak. Instead he nodded, his head bobbing up and down.

Severus remained silent for a few moments, remembering what Ghost had said the previous night. "Do you truly wish this? Knowing me the way you do?"

"Yes," Harry whispered.

"Then I shall make it so," Severus said, a slow smile spreading over his face.

"Welcome to the family, Harry!" Skull yelled, and flew onto Harry's shoulder, singing _We Are Family._

After a few moments, Harry left to meet Ghost and learn more about Traveling, and on his face was a beautiful smile. For now he had a real family at last.

**A/N: I'm finally posting again! I was in the hospital for 10 days or so due to high BP and a bleed on my cerebellum, so please be kind and let me know if you enjoyed the chapter! Did you like the ending?**


	42. Adoption

**42**

**Adoption**

As Harry left his quarters to go to Ghost's room, Severus hummed quietly as he gathered up the breakfast dishes into a pile and left them on the end of the table, where Prissy would remove them. He felt oddly lighthearted and somehow vindicated by Harry's request to be adopted. Never in all of his life would he had have assumed that any child would ask for him to be their parent, he had spent too many years cultivating the terrifying bat of the dungeons persona for any but a few discerning Slytherins to break past the mask and see the man beneath. And even _they_ would not have dared think of him as father material. A rough protector or advisor perhaps—but a _father_—never! He felt strangely humbled to be thought of in such a fashion—humbled and slightly frightened as well. He had never been what anyone might call parenting material—indeed his guardianship of Harry was the first time he had been responsible for anyone save himself—and Skull, though the raven generally took care of himself. He wasn't what you would call friendly or even welcoming—he was suspicious, wary, and irritable when he was disturbed from sleep or brewing, he could be sharp, sarcastic, and downright nasty if you happened to get on the wrong side of him, and also strict as a poker when it came to following rules. And yet, Harry had chosen him as his parent, to replace the Potters. It boggled Severus' mind.

"You sound happy, Sev," remarked Skull from the back of the easy chair.

"I don't understand, Skull," Severus said wonderingly.

"Don't understand what, Sev?"

"Why me? He could have just left it as a guardianship. Or—or chosen someone else—like Dumbledore. Why me? I'm a bloody pain-in-the-ass with all my rules. I'm not permissive, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm a disciplinarian. Why would any kid want me for his adoptive father?"

"Kids need boundaries, Sev. They need to know where they stand. Harry never had that till you. He told me once that the Dursleys were always on him for everything, even things that weren't his fault. Actually, _everything_ was his fault. But you're not like that, Severus. You've made him understand that he's only in trouble for things that he does, not for things he doesn't. You're fair with him, and though he might not like your discipline, he knows, deep down, that he needs it. You care about him, Sev. You make sure he's safe and comfortable and happy. You treat him like he matters, not because he's supposed to be Voldemort's downfall, but because he's a little kid that needs looking after."

"Well, yes . . . but he could get some of that from Molly Weasley."

"_She_ has seven of her own to look after," Skull reminded. "Much as she'd try, she can only do so much. Harry knows that. Besides, I think he likes being the only one who's ever seen past that shell of yours, Professor. And he likes the way you care for him, strict or not."

"But I'm not like James Potter. I never will be. I don't play Quidditch—I hate the damn game—I'm not popular or thrilled with stupid pranks—"

"Severus Snape! Harry knows all that! He knows you're not here to take James' place, that's ridiculous. What he knows about his father can fit into a thimble. It's not important. His father is dead. You're here. And you love the boy, just Harry, not the Boy Who Lived." Skull cocked his head and looked earnestly at his wizard. "You need to stop doubting yourself, Snape. You're a good guardian and will be a better father. Much better than the ones he's known before you. You've taught the boy something no one else has, something he may not even realize yet."

"Like what? How to brew potions?"

"No, you idiot, how to value himself." Skull snapped. "No one else, not Dumbledore or McGonagall, has ever done that. Only you. And that is why you're the best father for him. And if anyone says differently, I'll peck out their eyes! Then they'll see the truth!"

"Oh, Skullduggery! You don't need to defend me, I can defend myself," Severus chuckled. But he was touched by the raven's staunch belief in him, though he'd never admit it. The raven's words meant a lot to him, who had been bullied and undervalued for much of his child and young adulthood, and even now felt undervalued by his associates at times. Save for a few. One was Ghost. The others were Irma, Lena, and Poppy.

"Of course I do, Sev! I'm your familiar, it's what we do. Unless you're being a complete and utter idiot," Skull answered. He flew onto the wizard's shoulder and began preening Severus's hair. "Now all we have to do is get you and Lena on a date and we'll be set."

Severus almost choked. "Skullduggery, you try any kind of matchmaking and I swear by Merlin's bloody wand I will stuff you and mount you on the wall in my office! Understand!"

"Ceridwen's Cauldron! I haven't seen you this agitated since that student—what was her name again—oh, Tamara Duggan—said she wanted to have your child in sixth period potions." The raven sounded positively gleeful.

"Shut up, Skull! That's hardly the same thing."

"Maybe not, but I think you like her."

"I do like her. As a friend."

"The way you used to like Lily."

"Mind your own business, bird. I mean it."

"Hmm . . . struck a nerve there, did I? Maybe I ought to suggest she take a walk in the moonlight . . . right around the same time you're gathering moon flowers . . ."

"Skullduggery, you're pushing it," growled the Potions Master.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Sevvy!" sang the raven, then he vanished, going into the astral plane before his wizard could try and hex him for his interfering ways.

Severus covered his face with his hands briefly. Heaven help him if Skull really did try and play matchmaker!

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

"I can't do this!" Harry groaned in defeat after the twentieth time he had tried to use his magic to block Ghost's attack on the astral plane. He had mastered using his magic and that of the Place Between Worlds to hide from a predator, but Ghost told him sometimes that might not be enough and he needed to learn a few defense mechanisms. Except he couldn't seem to gather enough energy to block the master Traveller's attacks. It was very frustrating, especially because he had defeated a revenant not too long ago.

"Yes, you can," Ghost repeated calmly. "You're trying too hard."

"How can that be?" asked his apprentice sulkily.

"Because you're pouring too much power into your shield at the start, and not building it up gradually, like I showed you."

"But it feels too slow."

"The more you layer your power, the stronger it is," Ghost answered. "Try again."

They were both on the Place Between Worlds, in a safe spot Ghost knew of. They appeared as their normal selves, save for being eerily transparent and glowing slightly.

"Aww, do I have to?" asked Harry grumpily.

Ghost frowned at him. "Now you're whining. Stop that. Impatience will get you nothing except trouble."

"Ha! Says the number one impatient apprentice shaman old Wolf Tooth ever taught!" Shriek said, cackling from above.

Ghost slanted her a mildly annoyed glance. "Will you never forget that?"

"No!" Shriek snickered. "It was too funny! You were so impatient to learn magic you ran out of the wigwam in your underwear! Right in front of Aria, Wolf's daughter who you had a terrible crush on! Thunderbird's wings, I almost had a seizure! And the way you turned that brilliant scarlet . . .!"

"Shriek, enough!" Ghost ordered.

"Did that . . . umm . . . really happen?" asked Harry cautiously.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ghost sighed. "I was twelve and boys that age are very impulsive. I was lucky Wolf didn't tell me to go home after that little display. But he understood."

"What about the girl?"

Ghost smirked. "I almost ended up married to her later."

"You did? How come you're not?" Harry asked curiously, then he said, "Sorry. It's none of my business."

"No, it's all right. I decided that as a shaman, I had too much responsibility helping my people to devote enough time and love to a wife. So it was not to be."

"It could have been," Shriek snorted. "If you weren't so all fired noble and more romantic . . . she would have waited . . ."

"Shriek, that was years ago and it's over now." Ghost rolled his eyes. "Spirits save me from matchmaking ravens. Anyway, Harry, I think the reason you're having so much trouble with this spell is because you're used to getting instant results from your spellwork, by that I mean you usually cast when you're angry or desperate, which results in a strong wave of magic."

"What's wrong with that? Ron always said a wizard's stronger when he's angry."

"That may be so, but he's also uncontrolled. You waste more power in anger, and while you accomplish your objective, you also could burn yourself out doing that." Ghost pointed out. "Casting a spell deliberately, calmly, is much better than waving your wand wildly and just cutting loose, do you see what I mean?"

"Yes. I guess so."

"Being calm is hard, but in order to get a handle on your abilities, you must learn it," Ghost said, a bit sternly. "Now, let's try it again."

Harry sighed, but did as he was told. Finally a shield sprang to life beneath his hands and as Ghost shot bolts of power at it, he gradually increased the strength and circumference until it repelled the bolts back at the shaman.

Just when Harry was sure he would collapse from the strain, Ghost called a halt.

"Very good! That's what I'm talking about! Practice that some more and you can give a Spirit Devourer something to chew on."

Harry let the shield drop. He felt exhausted.

"Let's go back and have some sage tea," Ghost said, and together they returned to their bodies, which were sitting on Ghost's rug in his living room.

Shriek appeared a moment later and the white raven groomed herself while her master gather a teapot and some sage tea.

Harry was tired and got up and sat on the couch. He leaned back against the couch cushions and thought about telling Ghost what had occurred between him and Severus.

As the two sat drinking tea, Harry said, "Umm . . . I asked Uncle Severus if he . . . uh . . . wanted to adopt me and he said yes."

"Ah, that's why you were distracted," Ghost said, smiling. "Good, I'm glad for both of you. Together, you'll give each other just what you need. A family." The shaman sipped his tea, then said quietly, "Among my people, adoption of a child means just as much as a birth does. The adopted one is a full member of the family, with inheritance rights and everything. I've heard it's different among outsiders."

"Yeah, it can be. Some people think blood matters more. But Uncle Sev has no other kids, so . . ." Harry trailed off.

"You seem a bit nervous," the shaman observed cannily. "Do you regret your decision?"

"No, it's not that." Harry shook his head. "It's just . . . well, I never knew my parents. And then I found out that Uncle Sev was friends with my mum, but my dad was like his enemy at school . . ." He explained the feud and bullying to Ghost. "And now I'm sort of wondering if . . . they'd approve of me having him as my . . . dad."

"I see."

Harry blushed. "It sounds dumb, right? Wishing for dead people I never knew to say it's all right to do what I want?"

"No. It's natural for you to look for approval from your parents, despite the fact that they're no longer here," the shaman looked thoughtful. "Harry, do you believe in life after death?"

"Uh . . . yeah. Like we go to heaven when we die?"

"Yes, but also that our spirits live on in another plane of existence," Ghost said seriously. "As a shaman, I can contact that world. Can make a bridge from it to ours and you can talk to your parents. But I can only do it during a sacred ceremony."

"A ceremony?"

Ghost nodded. "Like an adoption."

Harry's eyes opened wide. "You mean, I could talk to them?"

"Yes, for a short while. You could ask them your questions and get an answer."

Harry brightened. "That would be so wicked!" Then his face fell. "But what if my real dad said no?"

"It would be up to you what you do. You are the one with the power to choose, Harry. He could offer an opinion—it does not mean you need to follow it. Unless you choose to," Ghost told him firmly.

"Oh."

"Would you like me to try?"

"Yes. But what about Uncle Severus?"

"I will explain it to him while you're in class. Now, finish your tea. Or else you'll be late."

"Ghost, when will you perform the ceremony?"

"Tonight, if possible. There is a full moon, a good sign for beginnings." He looked toward his regalia. "Tonight you'll see me use my drum." The drum was what he used to summon spirits.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry was so eager for the adoption to take place that he could barely concentrate in class that day. Luckily he did not have potions, but Transfiguration, Charms, and History of Magic. After lunch he had Quidditch practice, for which he was allowed to use his broom, though he was still under the ban of no flying until the end of term. He hadn't yet told any of his friends about the adoption, not for fear of what they would say, but because he had an odd fear if he talked about it, it might not come true. He knew that was ridiculous, nevertheless it was how he felt.

Severus had told him to meet at his quarters, Ghost would be there. Severus had spoken with Wizarding Child Services and the goblins at Gringotts, and all the paperwork was in order. There was actually no need for an official ceremony, just a signing of papers with a witness, but both Harry and Severus felt it would be more meaningful with a ceremony of some sort. Ghost had offered to do the ceremony used among his people, which included a feast and, in this case, the involvement of Harry's spirit parents. Harry just hoped they would understand.

Harry hurried down the stairs to the dungeons, he was wearing his good set of robes and a nice shirt and trousers Severus had purchased for him. He knocked on the door and was admitted.

"Good, you're on time," Severus said. Instead of his teaching robes, he was wearing a set of forest green dress robes and soft brown boots. He looked very elegant and unlike his strict professor self.

"Hello, _bran-_boy," said Skull, who was sitting alertly on Snape's shoulder. His black feathers were glossy and almost iridescent.

"Hey, Skull." Harry waved at him. "Where are we going to do it?" he asked Severus.

"In the graveyard at Godric's Hollow," replied his guardian. "Ghost needs some kind of physical representation of the person he's going to summon, and that's the best one I know of."

"Really? Neat! Have you ever seen anyone summon a spirit?"

"No. This will be a first for me also." The papers and the self-inking quill were in his pocket. He was not worried so much about the long-dead James Potter as he was about what Dumbledore would say. Not that it mattered. There was nothing the old wizard could do once the deed was done. He knew the other man had misgivings about Severus being Harry's guardian, he would have even further protests about a full adoption. So be it, Snape thought. Dumbledore was not God, nor his lord and master, and he would do what was best for Harry.

Ghost and Shriek soon showed up, Ghost was wearing the full regalia of the _Mesquakie_, full buckskin shirt with fringes, leggings, breechclout and headband with feathers. All of his clothes were painstakingly beaded with colored beads of red, green, white, blue, and yellow. There were signs of the sun, ravens, circles, and other symbols. He wore moccasins and carried a bag over his shoulder, and his drum and staff were in his hands. On his face was painted blue crescent moons and red circles.

"Wow! Ghost, you look like—" Harry began.

"—a real Indian now?" his mentor teased, grinning. "Well, you don't have an adoption everyday. I only dress up like this on special occasions."

"We're ready to go," Severus said. "The moon is almost up."

"How do you know that?" asked Harry. "There's no windows down here."

"The wall is magicked to show the weather outside," Severus reminded him. Then he took Harry's arm and they Apparated away to the graveyard in Godric's Hollow.

Soon they reached a grave which had a small bridge of marble, attaching two headstones with the names of James and Lily Potter. Carved into the bridge were the words _The last enemy to be destroyed is death._ There were two cherry trees on either side of the headstones, and flowers were spread over the two plots. Though it was dark and a little chilly, Harry found he wasn't afraid. He stayed next to Severus, who waited for Ghost to arrive.

The shaman did soon afterwards, and looked around. "This is more pleasant than most graveyards I've been to. Will Normals see what we're about to do?"

"No. This part of the graveyard is hidden from them," answered Severus.

"All right. I need Shriek and Skull to go and sit on each headstone. When I call to the spirits of James and Lily Potter, they may be confused and need your guidance. If that's so, I need you to bring them over here."

The ravens flew over to the headstones, Shriek perched on James' and Skull on Lily's.

Ghost directed Severus and Harry to sit down across from each other. He told Severus to place the adoption papers and the quill on the ground inbetween them. Then Ghost stood up and began to beat the drum, in a rhythm that echoed into the night, in a rapid staccato beat. He began to chant softly in his native tongue, and Harry could feel the magic stirring in the air, and swirling over and around him.

Ghost began to glow, and so did his staff. He etched a doorway in the air and then chanted, "Potions Master Severus Tobias Snape, is it your wish to be a father to one Harry James Potter?"

"It is."

"Will you swear upon your Name, magic, and honor to be just and loving to the aforementioned child, and treat him as your own flesh and blood, giving him all the love and discipline and physical and emotional needs he requires?"

"I will."

Ghost turned to Harry. "Harry James Potter, is it your wish to be adopted by Severus Tobias Snape?"

"Yes, sir."

"Will you swear upon your Name, magic, and honor to be a loving son and try to listen to your adoptive father, and treat him as you would your own flesh and blood, giving him the respect, love, and obedience he requires?"

"I will."

Ghost waved his staff over the two and there came blue sparkles and they drifted over the two and infused them with a feeling of peace and love.

"Normally, the consent of the participants is all that is needed to complete the adoption process. However, Harry would like the opinion of his parents, and to this end I summon, by the grace of the Creator and his heavenly host, James and Lily Potter!"

His words echoed like a shout in the stillness and the doorway ran with rivulets of rainbowed light.

Severus and Harry waited to see figures emerge from it. They waited several long minutes, before Ghost gestured to the two ravens.

Both Skull and Shriek gave loud caws and disappeared.

In two minutes, the doorway shimmered and Lily Potter's spirit emerged, with Skull upon her shoulder.

As she crossed over, her form becoming more solid, Skull flew from her shoulder and perched upon the headstone again.

Harry saw Severus stiffen as he saw Lily, who was wearing a beautiful green dress and matching shoes, emerge from the gateway. He saw the man mouth her name, hope and love visible in his dark eyes.

"Hi, Mum," was all Harry could manage through the lump in his throat.

Lily came to stand on the right side of ghost, smiling her signature smile. "Hello, Harry, Sev." Her voice was soft, yet clear as a bell.

Then the doorway shimmered again and this time James walked through. He was wearing a Quidditch jersey and camel colored trousers, his hair mussed and his glasses slightly askew on his face. His hazel eyes twinkled and he smiled over at Harry. Shriek was on his left shoulder and then she too flew off and onto his headstone.

James looked at Severus and Harry sharply.

Severus stiffened and then looked at his rival with a rather stern expression.

Harry knew how difficult this must be for him and wondered at his control. He smiled back at his father and said, "Hi, Dad."

James moved to stand at Ghost's left side. "Hi, Harry. Merlin, you've grown!" He winked at his son, then looked at Severus. "Hello, Snape."

"Potter," Severus nodded at the other politely.

Ghost said quietly, "I have summoned you here so your son can ask you a question. I ask that you respond forthwith honestly and with compassion. Know that your answer may or may not influence your son's life."

"We understand," said James, his voice firm and yet echoing. "Go on, Harry."

"Umm . . . well, what I wanted to say was . . . I think Severus needs a family, since he has none anymore, and I want to be that family. I want him to adopt me and make me his son. But I know that you, Dad, were enemies with him in school."

"Yes. We didn't get along," James admitted. "Some of that was my fault." He looked uncomfortable. "Fact is, most of it was."

"He told me so. You were wrong. But I want you to know that I still love you and I want to know if you'll be mad if I make Severus my dad?"

James was silent for several minutes. Then he said, "If you had asked me that question after I finished school, or before we went into hiding, my answer would have been yes, that the last man I would have chosen for you was Severus Snape. But that was before I realized the truth. And now I say to you, Harry, he is the best man to protect and care for you. Your mother told me long ago there was more to him than met the eye, and she was right. Harry, I can't take care of you, and if Severus is willing, then let him be your surrogate father."

"I agree, Harry. Sev was my best friend growing up. I trusted him with my life, and more importantly, yours. I know his heart and if he pledges you his protection and his heart, it is yours forevermore. Never doubt it. Whatever you choose, we will support you."

James nodded.

Harry beamed. "Then I choose Severus."

He clasped Severus's hands.

"Then sign the papers, Harry," said Ghost.

Harry went and signed both the adoption paper and the one giving Severus control of his Gringotts vault till he was of age.

Then Severus signed below him.

Ghost picked up the quill and signed in the witness space.

Then the Potters picked up the quill and signed their names in the second space, only their signatures were only visible to Harry, Ghost, and Severus.

The papers flared a greenish blue and vanished, returning to their respective departments at the Ministry.

Harry threw his arms about his new father and hugged him hard, while his parents, Ghost, and the two ravens watched. Severus, nearly overcome, hugged him back.

Small tendrils of energy began to drift out of the doorway and inch over to Lily and James.

"Son, we have to be going," Lily called. "We're only allowed to be here a short time."

"We have to go now," James confirmed. "Be happy, Harry. Take care of my son, Severus."

"I will . . . James," Severus answered.

"Always, Dad."

"Remember, we love you, Harry," Lily said softly, her green eyes shimmering with tears. "And thank you, Sev, for loving him."

"It wasn't hard, Lily. Once I opened my eyes." Severus said. "Thank you for trusting me."

"Always, Sev. And now, farewell to you both," Lily said. With a last wave and a smile, she entered the rainbowed doorway.

James waved as well, then followed.

Ghost's staff waved across the doorway and it vanished. He beat out a tempo on the drum and chanted a final measure in _Mesquakie_ and the magic that had summoned the spirits of the dead ceased. The shaman lowered his staff. "Congratulations, you two! May you know happiness, health, and the home you have always desired."

"Thank you, Ghost. You honor us," Severus said. He ruffled Harry's hair. "Let's go back home, son. You have school tomorrow."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Okay, Dad. But I think I ought to be allowed to skip school." Then he gripped Severus' lean frame hard as the wizard took them back home, his heart singing.

**A/N: Hope you all liked the adoption ceremony! I know it was a bit different. Let me know what you thought. Thanks! And thanks for sticking with this story.**


	43. Reactions

**43**

**Reactions**

Harry tried his best, but Severus was adamant—there was no reason Harry should miss class tomorrow unless he was deathly ill or magically drained and needed rest. Getting adopted was not on the list and so Harry found himself awoken at seven in the morning to take a shower and get dressed by a very cheery and annoying raven.

"Gah!" he groaned and turned over, burying his face in the pillow. "Skull, go haunt someone else, I'm still sleepy!"

"Now don't sulk, _bran-_boy! Time to get up and don't make me call Sev in here," Skull cackled, sitting on the headboard. "Don't you know what he does to students who are late risers? Didn't Malfoy ever tell you?"

"No, but I'm sure you will," Harry grumped, trying to fall back to sleep and failing miserably. He had been dreaming of something pleasant, and now the dream was lost.

"He throws a very large, very cold, very full bucket of water on them and yells in a voice fit to wake the dead to get up _right now_, or else!" Here the raven imitated his wizard's voice so well Harry could have sworn the Potions Master was right beside him. "Do you want that to happen to you?"

Harry opened one eye crossly. No, he didn't. No way in hell. "Okay, bird. I'm up!" He rolled over and made himself leave the cozy nest of blankets. He really wished he could just sleep in today, but fat chance of that! He thought, only for a moment, of having Mr. Weasley for a father instead of Snape, but just as quickly the thought vanished. He knew Severus Snape cared for him deeply, and only him, while Arthur was more like a friend—or a friend's father, good for laughs and advice, but not important things. Which apparently included school. Then again, who was to say Arthur was any different than Severus when it came to getting kids ready for school in the morning?

_It could be worse,_ Harry thought, yawning as he walked to the bathroom. _I could be woken up by Mad Marlene and her bloody ruler, ugh!_ He did not regret that woman's death in the slightest, and he absently rubbed the non-existent sting from his bottom as he entered the bathroom. _Or Aunt Petunia._ He didn't miss the Dursleys at all either, though he did wonder who was going to explain to them that he wouldn't be going home there ever again once term ended. Would Dumbledore do it? McGonagall? Or maybe Severus himself?

Imagining their faces made Harry happy and he took a quick shower with hot water and emerged still smiling. Then he recalled he had finals today and the smile erased itself. He dressed in his uniform and robe, leaving the tie for Severus to do because he was too lazy to struggle with it this morning.

When he emerged from the bathroom, steam still clinging to his glasses, Severus met him, dressed in his usual black teaching robes.

"Good. You're awake. Would you like to eat here or in the hall with your friends this morning?"

"Uh . . . in the hall, I guess." Harry mumbled. "Got a lot to talk about."

"I'm sure you do," Severus nodded. He knew of one person who would not be happy with last night's events. "Come here. Let me fix your tie."

After fixing his son's clothing and running a comb through his hair over the boy's protests that he _liked_ his hair that way, Severus sat down to read the paper before going up to the hall for ten minutes. He drank a cup of tea and gave one to Harry as well. He eyed the boy as Harry put in four sugar lumps and stirred. "Are you going to have tea or just eat the sugar bowl?"

"I like sugar in my tea."

"Humph! How you haven't died of diabetes by now is a miracle."

"Dudley used the whole bowl," Harry defended.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Merlin forfend! Go easy on the sweets, Harry, or else you'll end up with digestive issues, at the least."

Harry sipped his tea, then said, "How come Dumbledore eats sweets and never has a problem?"

"Who says he doesn't?" snorted the professor. "You aren't the one brewing Stomach Remedies at twelve midnight for him."

Harry set the cup down. "Really, Dad?"

"Oh, yes. Trust me on that. Now finish your tea and we'll go up to the hall."

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Harry found Ron, Neville, and Hermione also yawning broadly when he came up to the Gryffindor table. He waved at Draco across the way, who was studying something and barely acknowledged him, until he said, "Hey, guys, guess what happened last night?"

"Your ghostly mentor taught you some spells they use in America," Ron guessed.

"Nope. Ghost performed a ceremony for me and Professor Snape."

"What sort of ceremony?" asked Hermione.

"The kind where you call on the spirits of the dead to witness something."

"Spirits of the _dead_?" Neville squeaked.

"He summoned up spirits?" Draco was suddenly at Harry's elbow, listening intently. "That's dark magic."

"Only if you're trying to compel them. Ghost wasn't. He called up the spirits of my parents—"

"He called up Lily and James? And they answered?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes!" Harry snapped a little. "He _is_ a shaman, after all, and part of that is talking to the spirit world. Anyway he called up my parents to witness something very special . . . my adoption."

Draco's mouth came unhinged. "Adoption? Like in . . . Snape adopted you? Officially?"

Ron was half-grinning like the village idiot, and he clapped his hand on Harry's back. "That's great, mate! Now you don't have to live with those crappy relatives of yours."

"I know," Harry began.

"Oh, Harry! You're so lucky, you have a professor for a father and can get all the latest books and curriculum notes," Hermione rhapsodized, her eyes full of longing.

Harry choked on his ham and eggs. "Hermione, Godsake! Don't remind me." While he loved books and didn't mind studying, he did mind Severus hovering over him like some disapproving bat.

Neville was looking shocked and uncertain, as if he didn't know whether to offer congratulations or commiseration. "Well . . . that's good, Harry. If you want it that way."

"I do. I'd rather scrub Snape's dungeon forty times than go back and weed Aunt Petunia's garden and get locked up again for not finishing my chores."

"They locked you up?" Draco repeated, looking indignant. "For slaving over them like a house elf?"

"For not finishing my list of chores. Which were as long as my arm," Harry corrected.

"That's stupid!" Hermione cried.

"Unfair gits!" Ron added.

"That's cruel and unusual punishment," Neville stated.

"What is?" asked George, "Being made to take end of term exams?"

"No, having Snape for his father!" called Craven, braying loudly at his own wit.

Harry stood up, flushing. He knew he was drawing unwanted attention, but he didn't care. "You shut your gob right now, Craven!" he growled. He'd be damned if this would go the way the guardianship had. "You have no room to talk, so quit flapping your jaw. Whether Professor Snape adopted me or not is my business, so but out!"

"Is it true?" called a girl down the row. The whole table was abuzz now.

Harry's chin jutted out. "And if it is? You all going to turn on me again?"

There were several ashamed whispers and muttering, and a few Gryffindors refused to meet his gaze.

"Only a traitor would allow a Slytherin dark wizard to adopt him!" Craven sneered.

"My father's no traitor!" Harry yelled, fists clenching. He so wanted to punch Craven's teeth out, but Severus' training and Ghost's as well on keeping his temper made him be still. "Or a dark wizard!"

"Got that right, Potter!" Draco agreed. "Craven's a big ass!"

"You watch yourself, Malfoy, before I hang you up by your balls on the Astronomy Tower!" Craven threatened nastily.

"Craven! You've got no call to threaten a firstie that way!" Percy objected.

Before anyone else could intervene, a soft feminine voice said, "My, my. Such manners! Someone needs their dirty mouth washed out with soap. And a scrub brush!"

All eyes glanced up to see Shriek circling overhead, her ivory colored body almost blending in with the ceiling.

Craven flushed and growled, "Blow it out your arse, you mangy thing! As if I'd take advice from the likes of you."

Several students gasped at the way he was speaking to a sacred raven. Shriek flipped her tail at him insolently and squawked, "It's your funeral, punkin',"

Craven yelled as bird dung spattered all over his head. "Eeew! Yuck! You—you shat on me!" He shook his fist at the raven.

"Oops . . . must have mistaken you for a lump on a log," Shriek cooed. "The resemblance is rather strong."

By now the Gryffindors and Slytherins were snickering.

"She's as good as Skull!" exclaimed Fred.

Shriek landed on the table and bowed. "Glad to be of service, sirs. Putting nasty little rats in their place is my specialty."

When Craven would have lunged at the bird, Percy shoved him back in his seat. "Go clean up, you! You're lucky the bird didn't peck your eyes out, Craven. You ought to know better than to insult a raven. Or Professor Snape that way."

With so many disapproving and giggling glances being shot his way, Craven hurriedly left his seat and ran from the room. The laughter followed.

Harry sat down and continued eating. Everyone was quiet. Then he looked at Shriek and said, "Thanks, Shriek."

"Don't mention it, Harry," the raven trilled. "That one's getting too big for his britches there and needs a good hiding."

"He needs _what_?" asked a girl with blond hair.

Shriek turned to her. "That's American for a kid who needs to be spanked bloody good and hard," she said, affecting an upper crust British accent.

"With my mum's spoon," Percy smirked. "You're all right, bird."

"You're okay too," the raven responded cheekily. Then she flew back over to where Ghost was seated with the rest of the teachers, her duty done for the day.

Behind her, several students cheered and clapped. Hermione said, "I wish she could stay here, she's like a female Skull, only prettier."

Harry chuckled. "She's even more impudent than he is, according to Ghost."

"I find that hard to believe," Draco said. "Skull is impudence personified. I don't know how he's survived this long with the professor."

"He's a raven familiar," Neville said. "They know how to treat their wizards."

"Poor Professor Snape!" Ron said, laughing.

"No, _lucky_ Professor Snape," Harry corrected quietly. "I love my owl, but I wish I could have a raven for a familiar someday."

"Maybe you will. The raven chooses, you know," Draco said.

Harry nodded and finished eating. _But why would a raven choose me?_

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Severus was halfway through his breakfast porridge, fruit, and yogurt when he heard Dumbledore say calmly, "Severus, I need to speak with you in my office after breakfast. It shan't take long, I'll make sure you're on time for your ten o'clock class."

Severus merely nodded after gazing at the old man sharply. He had a good idea what this talk was going to be about and he was not looking forward to it. _Don't meddle in my business, old man!_ He thought waspishly as he ate some more oatmeal. _I've finally got everything settled and you think you can manipulate me . . . well, think again!_

He finished his breakfast, scowling sourly into his yogurt as he ate the last mouthful.

Ghost, sensing trouble, whispered, "You okay, Sev?"

"My master calls," replied the Potions Master sarcastically.

Ghost nodded. "Those who think they're chief honchos can be a real pain in the ass."

"Exactly," Severus growled, rising. Skull perched upon his shoulder. "I'll see you later, Ghost."

"Will do. Think I'll go for a stroll on the grounds. I need to be outside," the shaman said genially, also rising.

"Is that something peculiar to you nature priests?" asked Pomona curiously.

Ghost shook his head. "All of us shamans are tied in some way to the natural world, Mona. We aren't comfortable cooped up inside for too long. But this is just me getting a mite antsy. I need to stretch my legs, feel the wind in my face. Then I'll be up to giving Harry his lesson tonight."

"How is Harry doing?" Dumbledore queried.

"Very good. Kid has a good grasp of discipline, thanks to Severus there," Ghost replied pointedly.

Severus found himself flushing. "I only tried to teach him some control over his wayward emotions."

"And that's what he needed to bring his power into line," Ghost responded. "Be seein' ya." Then with seven rapid strides he crossed the hall and was out the doors.

Severus followed Dumbledore up the revolving stairs to his office.

As soon as Dumbledore had sat down behind his desk, he picked up the dish of lemon drops. "Have one?" he offered.

"No, thank you," Severus said, not understanding how anyone could eat such a cloying sweet . . . . or why he persisted in offering one to someone he knew disliked them? Perhaps someday he would make the old gaffer keel over by accepting, he thought with a smirk. "What did you wish to talk to me about, Headmaster? I have prep work to go over before class."

"Oh, I think you know," Dumbledore said, his tone slightly frosty.

"My adoption of Harry," Severus answered, his arms folded over his chest.

"Yes, that. Why didn't you tell me about it?" Now Dumbledore sounded suspiciously hurt.

Severus ignored the theatrics. "So you could have told me it was a bad idea? You know I know that you've never really approved of me being his guardian."

"Now, Severus," began the old wizard. "I never _disapproved_, but I felt it was too much for you."

Severus snorted. "With my duties as your spy? You were worried over my health? Please, Albus, spare me! I was in more danger as your spy and his protector than I am now. What's done is done."

"Yes, but I would have like to be informed."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "If I may be blunt, it was none of your business—only mine and Harry's. _He_ came to me and asked for it, not the other way around. It was all his idea."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! Do you think I go around adopting orphan students every day?" snarled Severus.

"Are you able to take care of him?"

"I am as able now as I was when I was named his guardian. It was his choice, Albus. And mine." _And it's too late for you to do anything about it!_

"Sev will be a good father to the boy," Skull interceded. "Harry's own said so and so did his mother."

Dumbledore looked flummoxed. "I . . . don't understand. How could they say anything? They're dead and buried."

"The spirit world is open to those who know the way," Skull said mysteriously.

"Ghost called them to come," Severus explained.

"And they answered?"

"Most promptly. They gave Harry into my keeping." Severus said firmly, with the implication that it should be enough for anyone.

"Well, if Lily and James thought it for the best . . ."

"They did. Much better than the alternative—going back to those miserable Dursleys."

Dumbledore winced. "That was not one of my better ideas."

"It was a horrible idea," Severus said cuttingly. "Have you been back to see them since?"

"No, I've been busy. But I plan to—"

Severus held up a hand. "Don't bother. I'll take care of it."

"Severus, we don't want any trouble," Dumbledore said, alarmed slightly.

"There won't be," his former spy said smoothly. "Over twelve years as your spy and still you trust me so little?"

"No, I do trust you, but I know your temper, especially when it concerns abusive adults . . ."

"I was younger when I transformed Sarah Mulligan's stepfather into a rosebush," Severus waved a hand in dismissal. "Now I know to be more discreet. Besides, Petunia knows me from long ago, when I was Lily's best friend. She won't give me any trouble, or her fat fool of a husband either." _Not unless they want to become garden gnomes,_ he thought coldly.

"If you're sure, Severus . . ."

"I am. This is a family affair, Albus, and like it or not, _I_ am Harry's father."

"Very well. Just don't leave blood or bodies lying about. Very messy and the Ministry won't like it."

"That'd be too good for them," Severus said sharply. "I'll pay them a visit once Harry is settled in my home for the summer. Is that all?"

"Yes, I just wanted to make sure you were treating him right, Severus."

"He hasn't been made into potion ingredients yet, Headmaster."

"Though not for lack of trying," Skull purred.

Dumbledore sighed. "Can you be a little more tolerant, Severus?"

"I am being _very_ tolerant," said the Potions Master. "Ask Harry if you don't believe me. He will tell you that all your fears are irrelevant. I would never take the boy in just to abuse him, surely you know that?"

"Forgive me, Severus. I should not have implied that."

"Your Golden Boy is safe, Albus," Severus said quietly. "And will be so long as I draw breath. Now, if you are through, I have class to teach."

"Have fun, Severus," Dumbledore waved him away.

Severus sailed out the door, his black cloak billowing. Score one for his side, for once. The old one wasn't happy he'd stolen a march on him, but tough luck, as Ghost would say. He made his way down to the dungeons, Skull warbling on his shoulder.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry looked up as he crossed to the greenhouse for Herbology. He saw two shapes flying and circling about. Skull and Shriek, he thought, smiling. They wove in and out, in a gliding dance that made Harry wonder. _Could they be . . . like girlfriend and boyfriend? They look so . . . good together. Two halves of the same whole._

Then he shook his head. How ridiculous he was, mooning over the ravens like some matchmaker! He had more important things to worry about. He hitched his bag over his shoulder and continued on to the greenhouse, eager for Professor Sprout's lesson. He would ask Skull later.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

_Later that evening:_

Harry lay on his back on the grass after his lesson with Ghost. The shaman had said he needed a period of meditation and had left him alone. "Sometimes it's important to just connect with yourself and the power," he'd said, before disappearing into the trees. "Relax and listen."

So Harry put his arms behind his head and tried to do that. But his observation that afternoon kept interfering with his concentration, so at last he sat up and opened his eyes. Breathing deeply wouldn't cure his curiosity.

Only to find Shriek observing him. "Hey. Kind of boring watching me lie here, isn't it?"

The raven fluffed her feathers. "I'm merely watching over you. There are plenty of things I can see if I wish."

"Ghost told me I needed to meditate."

"You ought to try and listen to him. He is, after all, the premier sorcerer in America."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"A Windfar shaman is always the best at what he does. Bringing people together, protecting them from the forces of darkness. Ghost and I have done so many times. I don't choose weak wizards for companions."

Harry stared. "You mean . . . he's kind of like Dumbledore?"

"Yes. But younger and not as manipulative. But fully as strong, though you'd never guess it by the way he acts. But he's well respected in America."

"I never would have guessed."

Shriek chuckled. "Power walks softly sometimes, youngling. But it's still there."

Harry thought of the tall unassuming shaman. Was it so unbelievable that he could be as powerful as Shriek claimed? No. Harry had seen Ghost do things he could only dream of. The most powerful sorcerer in America. Harry wondered how many dark wizards he'd taken down. "Shriek, can I ask you something?"

"You may. But I may not answer," she replied maddeningly.

"Are you and Skull . . . like seeing each other?"

She cocked her head. "Is that teenspeak for are we mates?"

"Uh . . . yeah . . . sort of . . . ."

She warbled. "Curioser and curioser!"

Harry went red. "Sorry . . . I shouldn't have . . ."

"I am a raven, young one, and used to impudent questions," she answered. "We mate for life, you know. And I have found mine. I simply have to get him to acknowledge it. Fool bird is much like his master, afraid of losing his heart! Tchaa!"

"You mean, he hasn't said yes?"

"Not yet. But he will. This I know," Shriek said. "Love shall conquer the steadfast loyal heart every time."

"Oh. That's good. He needs you. And Severus needs someone too." Harry mused.

"As does Ghost. That's why I'm on his ass constantly to find a girl."

"Why?"

"All things in balance, Harry. A man wasn't meant to be alone, that's why the Creator made women. To compliment and help the guy. It's part of the natural order of things."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Dumbledore doesn't have anyone and he seems happy."

Shriek snorted. "So it seems, but he had one once. Long ago."

"How do you know?"

"Skull got that tidbit from Mrs. Norris, and passed it on to me. The cat's trying to get her master into a relationship too. Stubborn damn men! They fight when they should surrender."

"What do you mean?"

"If Ghost, or even Severus,, would surrender their heart just once, they would find complete balance and harmony. As a being born of the spirit world, I know this. I simply have to convince my stubborn shaman. And _you_, young one, would do well to convince Severus to turn his eyes to a woman sometime."

"_Me_?" Harry squeaked. "He'd murder me!"

"Not once he fell in love," the raven said smugly. "Now there's something for you to meditate on besides the sky."

Harry grinned and lay back down. He closed his eyes and thought about who might be best for Severus. Food for thought, indeed.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Who has some ideas for revenge against the Dursleys?**


	44. Aching Hearts

**44**

**Aching Hearts**

_Two days later:_

It was the last day of finals for the first year students, Severus thought as he took a brisk walk about the grounds after eating breakfast that morning. He knew Harry had Transfiguration and Charms in the morning, and his own Potions practicum in the afternoon. Then the exams were over for the year and what remained was tallying up all of the tests, quizzes, homework, and class participation marks for a final average. Severus was _not_ looking forward to that task. It was so tedious, and some of the students made him want to throttle them for being so utterly idiotic, and thinking he would pass them if they made up answers on the fly or managed by the grace of Merlin to brew an acceptable end of term potion. He pondered that chore for a moment, recalling the way Lena had helped him earlier in the year. Perhaps she would be willing to do it again? At least for a few of the younger forms? It would save him a great deal of teeth grinding and migraines. Or was he taking advantage of the librarian's willingness to help? He didn't want to seem ungrateful.

Skullduggery flew down on his shoulder. "Nice day, isn't it, Sev?" the raven said conversationally.

"Yes, it has warmed up," the professor replied. He stroked Skull's chest idly while striding along. "Skull, would you be up to taking a message to Lena? Ask her, if it isn't too much trouble, if she would mind assisting me with my end of term tests? I need her to help me mark some homework and such."

Skull cocked his head. "It's a fine day for some romance, eh, Sevvy?"

"Skull, just do as I ask, and quit the theatrics," Severus ordered irritably.

The raven peered at him with his head upside down. "Now don't get touchy, Sev. It was just an observation."

"The wrong one."

"Not from where I'm looking at it. The best relationships start as friends. You ought to know that."

Severus grimaced. "The last "relationship" I had with my best friend ended in tragedy. So your theory's null and void."

"You were what—sixteen and so was she? Teenagers know nothing about romance, or what drives a person to do things they later regret. Lily loved you, Sev. In her own way."

"But not enough. I spent my life regretting, bird. I don't need another relationship to turn sour on me."

"Maybe this one won't. They're two different people. Maybe you could try again."

"No. It's better we're just friends. That my heart can handle. Speaking of friends, what's with you and Mistress Shriek? Seems to me she fancies you."

Skullduggery his his head under his wing for a moment. "Aww, Sev! You just _had_ to bring that up, didn't you?"

"Fair's fair. You pried into my personal life," the Potions Master answered, his black eyes sparkling. "So . . . are you thinking of making a nest, or is this a fly by night kind of thing?"

Skull snorted. "Ravens don't _do_ casual affairs, Severus Snape. When a female chooses—and it's always up to her, by the way—it's a done deal."

"You mean the male doesn't have a choice?"

"Oh, we do. We can refuse. But usually that doesn't happen. Ravens mate for life, which means we're damn careful about choosing a partner."

"And Shriek has chosen you? I noticed you were spending a lot of time together." Severus teased.

"Yes, well . . . she wanted to see Hogwarts and there's no better guide than me, you know," Skull preened. "She's quite beautiful, you know. And mystical. But . . . I don't know if I'm right for her. There must be plenty of ravens in America for her to choose from."

"Do you love her? That's what it comes down to."

Skull ducked his head again and mumbled something.

Severus poked him playfully. "What was that? Yes or no?"

Skull clicked his beak and snapped, "If you _must_ know, O Nosy One, the answer is . . . yes, I think so. But if I do mate with her, where will we live, Sev? I can't travel to America and leave you behind and she's bound to Ghost."

"You travel to the Tower without me for weeks at a time."

"Yes, but that's on the same island, not an ocean away! What if you need me before then?"

"I would call for you. You know that. Skullduggery, if she makes you happy, then mate her. Don't throw away this chance over logisitics."

"Ha! Speaks the man who won't even ask the librarian out for coffee."

"That's different. I'm a human, not a bird. Relationships are more complex."

"Humph! What you are is scared. As well as a stubborn ass, believing all women are like Lily."

Severus stiffened. Sometimes the raven was so perceptive it hurt. "Don't speak like that about her!"

Skull flipped his tail insolently. "Sev, she threw you over for a prat and a misunderstanding. That makes her _persona non grata_ in my book. She hurt you and made you think you deserved it. Why should I like her?"

"Because I _did_ deserve it," Severus began hotly.

"No!" Skull squawked. "You were a humiliated boy, not a dark wizard! You made a mistake, but it wasn't unforgivable. Until she chose to make it so. She chose Potter over you. _Big_ mistake."

"Maybe not. I _did_ join the Death Eaters."

"Not all the way. Maybe not at all if I had been there. Or she had. Lucky for you Joe was. But still, what you did then and what happened before are two different things. She chose the wrong wizard."

"You're saying that because you're my familiar."

"No, I'm saying it because it's true, Severus. Potter was never a raven's choice. _You_ were. Because we pick only the best."

"I'm not perfect."

"Never said you were. We don't care about that. We care about hearts, souls, and magic. And when it comes to that, Snape, you only have to look in the mirror. Trust me on that." Skull's crest stood up on his head. "Give yourself a chance, won't you?"

"Speak for yourself."

"Shriek knows where I'm at. Stubborn ass!"

"Mouthy corvae. Go and court your other half."

"All right, I will. After I deliver your message to Lena," the raven returned. "I suggest you make a pot of coffee and have some cakes to thank her when it's over."

"If I wanted your advice, Skullduggery, I'd ask for it." Severus said bitingly.

"Only after the fact!" the raven hooted, then he soared from Snape's shoulder and flew back towards the castle.

"Damned know-it-all bird! I should have stuffed him long ago!" Severus muttered balefully as he continued his walk. He hated it when Skull was right, and the raven was right more often than he liked to admit.

The professor's strides took him past Hagrid's thatched hut, and he halted when he saw Ghost emerge from the interior.

"Hello, Severus."

"Hello, Ghost. Visiting Hagrid for something?"

"We were just discussing some magical wildlife. As a shaman it's part of my duty to oversee the wildlife around my home, make sure it's protected and all, and not harming any nearby human inhabitants. We were just swapping stories. I was telling him about the time Anne and I had to draw a chameleon bear out of a mall in Morning Star, South Dakota."

"A chameleon bear?"

"It's a bear that can change its pelt to look like its surroundings. They live long lives and usually are shy around people. But this one was curious, went into the mall one morning and next thing you know there was a panic. It took me and Anne hours to get the bear away and calm people down so they didn't try and hunt it down and kill it. Chameleon bear's a protected species among the magical community."

"Who's Anne?"

Ghost heaved a sigh, his eyes darkening. "I don't talk about her much anymore. She was my wife, when I was young and crazy. We served our apprenticeship together under the same master. I was nuts about her. She was my first and only love. Her full name was Anne Brightsun, and she was half-Asakawaki and white, like me, only she was descended from Quick Fox's lineage. Fox was Silverflash's cousin and best friend. Anne was mine. My friend, I mean, not my cousin, thank the spirits!" The shaman's eyes were far away.

"What was she like?" Severus asked, unable to rein in his curiosity.

"She was like a ray of light. I never knew someone so happy to just be alive. Back then, see, I was kind of . . . arrogant. I knew I was powerful, that magic had called me, and I was full of myself. I didn't have Shriek yet to kick my ass into line. I was a mouthy snot with too much magic and too little knowledge of how the world worked. But then, most eighteen year olds who led sheltered lives are." Ghost shrugged. "You wouldn't given me the time of day back then, Severus. But Anne could keep me from making too big of an ass of myself. Usually. She wasn't gorgeous, though I thought she was the most beautiful woman on earth. She was tall, with long black hair that she braided and tied with silver beads and feathers. She had hazel eyes and freckles on her nose. And I loved her more than I can say."

"Did you marry?"

"Yup. In the old way, we exchanged vows in front of a shaman. It was the best moment of my life, except when Shriek chose me. I thought we had forever. So did she. But . . . we only had two years before it happened. We went out among the other tribes of Indians, offering our services. They were always eager to have us help. I thought I could handle anything. After all, I was the most powerful shaman in Windfar, the Ghost Who Walked. But pride goeth before a fall, as they say."

"What happened?"

"Not what you're thinking. It wasn't a creature of the Other World or an evil wizard who killed her. It was me."

"You?"

"I got her pregnant. We were both over the moon. She wanted this baby more than anything and I . . . I was ready to become a father. Went and shot my mouth off to anybody who'd listen. But then . . . she got sick. There were complications . . . the placenta abrupted while I was away banishing a demon from a town in Wyoming. The Healers tried everything, but they couldn't save her. I got home to find her dying. I tried like hell to give her my strength, my magic, I bargained with the Creator to take me instead . . . but it was no use. She slipped off down the Gray Road while I held her hand, taking my son with her. He never saw the light of day. We buried them together and then I went a little mad. I couldn't take it, I blamed myself for losing her and the baby. I started drinking, messed myself up something awful. Shriek came then, and she saved me, showed me that I was still worth something. I became someone different, wiser I guess you'd say, and more willing to forgive mistakes. I had learned a hard lesson that day, but it was one I never forgot. That no matter how powerful, there are some things you cannot prevent, only accept. Like her death. I still miss her, Sev, and I always will. But I learned to go on. She would have wanted that."

"She sounds like a remarkable woman. I am sorry for your loss."

"Yeah. She was better than I deserved. But that was over fifteen years ago, and she'd come and kick my ass if she knew I was still mourning her memory. She'd tell me to get on with my damn life and find another woman to love. Only I can't. None of them are her. Shriek scolds me, says I'm too picky. And maybe I am."

"If you are, so am I," Severus admitted with a small smile.

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "So . . . are you like me in that respect, Severus? If you don't mind telling me, that is?"

Severus cleared his throat. "I . . . loved someone once. And lost her, like you."

"It's hard," Ghost nodded knowingly. Then he smirked quietly. "But if I were looking for someone, I'd pay attention to that pretty librarian you have here. She's not only cute, she's smart and strong in magic."

Severus stiffened. "You mean Lena? Lena Rosario?"

"Yes, that's who I'm talking about. Why? Is she promised to someone?"

"No, not that I'm aware of," Severus replied, his face forming a mask. He had no right to be dictatorial where Lena was concerned, he wasn't dating her and had no say over her. But Ghost's sudden interest bothered him, though he couldn't say precisely why.

Ghost eyed him sharply. "_You're_ not interested are you, Severus?"

"Me?" Severus sputtered, starting to redden. "No, we're friends. Just friends." He repeated, but the annoyed feeling was still there in his gut.

"Well," Ghost chuckled. "I don't have time for romance now, but maybe someday, when I'm ready to settle down, I'll see Miss Rosario again." _Unless you've snapped her up first, Snape. Which is a distinct possibility given how hot under the collar you are about a simple inquiry. Just friends, my eye! You like her as more than a friend or my name isn't Ghost Walker._ "I feel like taking a walk down by the forest. Care to join me?"

"I'd like that," Severus agreed, and they started off down the trail together.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry escaped to the library to read a book of raven myths and legends before his potions practicum that day. He knew reading was the best way to settle his mind before a test and he also knew that if he thought too long and too hard about the upcoming final he would be a mess of nerves. He was almost positive he had done well on his Charms and Transfiguration finals and he wasn't too concerned over potions, not after Severus' rigorous tutoring. He knew he could brew any draft on the syllabus, and the Potions Master would choose one that was tough, but not one that was unknown to the students. He was strict, but not unfair.

As he entered the library, he saw Madam Pince dusting a shelf and Lena shelving. He waved to Irma as he went to the section where the books on the Society of Ravens were and selected the volume he wished to read. As he went to sit down, Lena intercepted him.

"Hello, Harry. No finals today?"

"Hi, Lena. No, I already had two. I have my practical in potions this afternoon," Harry told her.

"Oh. Are you nervous? I've heard Professor Snape's finals are legendary."

"Not really. He's drilled me on them before and I know he'll give us one that's hard, but that we've learned to brew at least once."

"That makes sense," Lena nodded.

"Hello, _bran-_boy! Hello, Lena!" Skull cawed as he swooped down to land on Lena's arm. "I have a message for you from Sev. Would you care to hear it?"

"A message from Severus for me?" Lena clarified. She could feel her face heat slightly. "Go on."

"He sent me to ask you if you're busy later on. If not, then would you mind helping him grade his end of term tests and assignments? You did so once before, if I recall."

"Yes, that's right." Lena put a finger to her lips, thinking. "I believe I'm free after six tonight. I'd be happy to help. Would you please tell Severus so, Skull?"

"Will do, madam. And thanks from me as well, you've no idea what a grouch he can be when he's stuck grading all those papers by himself!"

Lena laughed. "I think I can imagine. And if he's grouchy with me, I'll tell him to go take a walk and clear his head. But leave me a big cup of coffee first."

"Sounds good to me, lady Rook! Be seeing you. Goodbye, all!" Then Skull flew away, leaving Lena with a slight smile on her face.

Upon seeing it, Harry grew bold, and asked softly, "Lena? Do you . . . like Professor Snape?"

"Huh?" she turned to look at him, astonishment covering her features. She brushed tendrils of blond hair from her eyes. "I . . . well . . . I . . . he's a good friend of mine," she stammered, not knowing what to say. It was true. The witch had very few friends in her life, mostly because her mercurial talent of reading surface thoughts made making friends and keeping them difficult. Except with Severus it was different. He was an Occlumens, his mind was closed to hers unless she tried to forcibly enter it.

"So you like him," Harry stated.

"Well . . . yes . . ." Lena admitted shyly. She admired Severus greatly for his control and his power and though she was often annoyed by his high handed attitude when it came to potions, she had to admit he was the best in his field. She also liked him as a person, snarky though he might be at times. He was an honest friend and she owed him a lot. But she was unsure if he liked her back.

Aunt Irma had told her once he was in love with Lily Evans, back when they were students, before she married James Potter. Lena had seen a photo of Lily in the school Slug Club in Dumbledore's office once. Lily Evans had been stunning. Unlike average Lena, who was skinny and too smart. The few suitors she'd had had been intimidated by her brains and had been more interested in getting her between the sheets than researching obscure magic with her. They'd also been put off by her mind magics, and she knew then she could never marry someone who did not love her for all that she was.

Not that Severus loved her. She was sure he considered them just friends, even if she hoped someday he might look at her as something . . . more. Then she shook her head. What silly girlish dreams she had! She was far past sixteen, too old to have fantasies about the dark-cloaked professor. She was content to be his friend . . . but a part of her did wonder what had happened between him and Lily. If she had Severus Snape's heart, she thought, she would have never let it go. Why had Lily chosen James over Severus? She was sure Irma did not know, or else she would have told Lena by now. It was another piece of the mystery that was Severus Snape. She wondered if she would ever know the answer.

The library witch turned to the son of the former Miss Evans and said, "Well, I'll see you later on tonight, Harry. Enjoy your book, it's a good one."

"Have you read it?"

"Oh, yes. I've read all the books in this section," the librarian said, then she swept off to reshelve some more arrivals, her midnight blue skirts swishing about her ankles.

Harry eyed her thoughtfully before opening his book and beginning to read. His mind was recalling something a certain white raven had said to him earlier.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

"For your final you are to brew a Forgetfulness potion," Professor Snape told his class of first year Slytherins and Gryffindors. "You have two hours. Watch the clock. Solutions are due on my desk before the bell rings. All ingredients are in the back cabinet. Begin."

Since they were all working alone for this draft, Harry hurried to the back cabinet for his ingredients as soon as he could. He had looked over all the difficult potions in his syllabus before coming to class, after he'd finished most of the book about raven mythology. So he knew most of the ingredients he needed, and he'd taken a look at his book to recall the rest.

As he gathered his ingredients, he smiled at Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Neville. He wasn't too concerned about Draco and Hermione, they were good potion makers, but he was a little worried about Neville, whom he hoped wouldn't let his anxiety get the better of him, and Ron, who tended to rush under pressure. He brought all the various beakers and jars back to his station and started the fire under his cauldron. He supposed he'd better concentrate on his brewing now and worry about his friends later. It wouldn't do for the son of the Potions Master to fail his practicum.

Severus walked about the room, not saying anything for once, but making sure there were no accidents or sudden fires to put out. So far most of the students were doing all right, especially Draco, Hermione, and Harry. Harry was even a little ahead of the others, which made Severus proud. Apparently, some of his tutoring had sunk in. Longbottom was also doing well, at least he wasn't melting his cauldron yet. And even Weasley hadn't broken anything or dropped something.

He returned to his desk to grade some papers while the clock ticked.

Skull was snoring on the end of it and he nudged the raven gently before picking up his quill. The bird shook himself and went on sleeping. Severus wondered how a simple flight with Shriek had tired out his familiar. Unless they had been doing other things besides flying . . .

Severus rubbed his eyes and ordered his mind to quit wallowing in the gutter and start grading. He was grateful Lena had accepted his offer and would be sure to have a pot of coffee and some pastries for her to munch on tonight. Some nights, the coffee and sweets were all that kept him upright.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Finally, Harry had finished brewing and had just bottled his sample. After cleaning up his station, he brought the finished product up to Snape's desk. "Here you are, sir." He held out the bottle for Snape's inspection.

Severus looked up, nodded, a pleased look coming into his eyes, then said, "Place it there, Mr. Potter. You are the first one done, and now you may go. You shall see the results of your marks next week."

Harry nodded and said, very softly, "See you at supper, Dad." He set the bottle on the desk and then he left. Boy, was he glad that was over! He only hoped he had done as well on his other exams.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Later that evening, he played chess with Ron in the Gryffindor common room. Ron won, of course, and then it was time to go down and meet with Ghost for his evening lesson. As he walked past Severus' quarters and office to get to Ghost's suite, he heard an unfamiliar sound—laughter. Peering inside the office, he saw Lena seated at a small table with a stack of papers on top, holding a red quill, and saluting Severus with a mug of steaming hot coffee. She seemed highly amused about something. Severus had a cup as well and was smirking.

_They look like they're having a good time,_ Harry mused as he went by. He was glad, he rarely heard his father laugh nowadays, he thought the pressure of grading must be getting to him. But maybe Lena's company helped that, and in any case it was nice to see Severus smiling a little. He slipped past the office and on into Ghost's quarters.

After Ghost had accompanied him into the astral to demonstrate yet another way to hide and become familiar with the unseen realm, Harry said, "You and my father are a lot alike. Well, you have more of an . . . accepting personality than he does, but . . . you both demand a lot of yourselves and . . . err . . . are alone . . ."

"Meaning we aren't married?" Ghost asked, grinned. "I was once."

"You got a divorce?" Harry guessed.

"No. She died."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"No reason you should. But just so you know, I'm not quite the solitary Shriek says I am. I'm just not ready for a close relationship yet."

"Is . . . my dad, do you think?"

"Well, Harry, that depends on him. He's like me a little, his days as a spy kept him from forming a relationship with anyone. I think it was too dangerous for him. But now that he's stopped, and has you . . . well, things are different."

"Do you think he . . . needs someone? A lady, I mean? Shriek says he does, that all of us do."

"Shriek's a damn busybody. But then, she _is_ a raven, and a female to boot. She won't be happy unless I settle down someday with a wife and a dozen brats."

"She says you're out of balance."

"She would. Right now, I'm content as I am. I'm not ready for someone new. It annoys her something fierce. She likes things tidy."

"Oh. What about my dad?"

"Severus will marry when he's ready. There are some things you don't force, Harry. It takes time for a broken heart to mend. There's no timetable for grief. Sometimes Shriek forgets that in her efforts to see me, or one of my friends, happy. Does it bother you he's alone?"

"No . . . except . . . I don't want him to be alone because of me. He deserves a chance to be happy. And I wouldn't mind a mother . . . someday."

"I think if Sev wants a relationship with a woman, he'll have one. But maybe you should talk this over with him."

"No! He'd skewer me!"

Ghost chuckled. "He might, at that. Try not to play matchmaker, Harry. It'll only get you in trouble." He ruffled the boy's hair. "All right. Let's go over this again, then we'll call it a night. You must be tired from your exams."

By the time they finished, Harry was yawning. Ghost dismissed him and he went to go to his room in Snape's quarters. As he passed the office, he noted it was now empty and Severus had locked it. The sound of laughter echoed in Harry's ears as he turned the knob and entered Snape's suite.

He found the professor sitting in front of the fire with a cup of tea, as was his wont. "Hello. Did you get all your grading done?" he greeted his parent.

"Most of it, thanks to Lena's prompt assistance," Severus answered. "Would you like a cup of tea, or would you prefer to go straight to bed? You look tired, Harry."

"I am, a little." He dropped his bag beside the couch and then went into his room to get changed. Afterwards, he came out and had a cup of Black Bohea and asked Severus if he'd failed anyone.

"Not this bunch, but there will undoubtedly be someone. You should have no fear of that."

"Really? Then I'm a good potion maker?"

"You have improved over the course of the year," Severus allowed. "And your marks should reflect that. Now stop fishing, boy, for I shan't tell you your grades ahead of time."

"But I didn't fail, right? So I won't be grounded over the summer." Harry pressed.

"No, not unless you do something utterly stupid or foolhardy. So remember that. Oh, and I'll be paying a visit to your relatives soon."

Harry grimaced. "What for?"

"To inform them of your adoption and gather the rest of your things."

"I . . . don't have much."

"Nevertheless, I owe Petunia a visit," Severus' mouth tightened.

Harry grinned. "She's gonna love that."

Severus rolled his eyes. "It will be the highlight of her summer holiday, no doubt. But I have things to discuss with her, and like it or not, she'll be hearing from me next week."

Harry smirked. He couldn't wait for that meeting. He knew Severus would probably tear into the Dursleys with his usual flare, and it was about time his relatives got their commuppence. Then he added, "Did you and Lena have a good time tonight?"

Severus gave him a suspicious look. "That's none of your business, Mr. Potter."

"You did, didn't you? You just don't want to admit it."

"You grow more impudent by the day. Watch it," the professor warned lightly.

Harry said nothing, for Severus' response said it all. He drank the rest of his tea and dozed a little before Severus reminded him to go to bed. It was sure to be an interesting summer, now that he was officially Snape's son.

**A/N: If anyone else has ideas about Dursley revenge from Snape, now's the time to let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	45. Ordinary People

**45**

**Ordinary People**

Before Harry knew it, the last day of school had arrived and he was bidding goodbye to his friends. He promised Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Draco to write over the summer and let them know how he was getting along with his new father. "Hopefully you'll behave and not be made into potions ingredients," Draco teased.

"Ha! You wish, Malfoy!"

"Is that the pot calling the kettle black, Draco?" Hermione inquired innocently.

Draco scowled. "I behave, Granger. My father's not one to be amused by pranks and such. And when I don't, I make sure not to get caught."

Ron was nodding. "That makes sense. Take care, Harry. And see if Snape won't let you drop in for a visit to the Burrow. That's the name of my house in Ottery ."

"Will do, Ron."

"And maybe I can visit your house sometime, if Gran says," Neville added.

"That would be fine, Nev. As long as my dad says it's okay," Harry told him. He was actually looking forward to this summer—a summer without the Dursleys and their sneering horrible attitudes, their endless chores, and the threat of being locked in the cupboard.

Thinking of the Dursleys reminded Harry of Snape's intention to go and see them, and he hoped he wasn't going soon, Harry wasn't quite ready to face them yet. And Ghost would be there another week to finish up Harry's tutoring.

"Well, have a good summer, Harry," Hermione said sincerely. "And I hope you got good marks on everything as well."

"So do I," Harry said fervently, thinking of History of Magic.

"Or else Snape will have your hide," Draco predicted. _And my father will have mine._

"I think I did okay," Harry said stoutly, with more confidence than he felt. Having a parent on staff, especially now, was rather nerve-wracking. "See you all on the Express next year." Because he was going home now with Severus, he didn't need to ride the train to King's Cross, he could just Floo to his new home, along with Ghost, Shriek, Skull, and the professor.

The professor's home was a comfy two bedroom affair in the suburbs next to York, and would have plenty of room for Harry, Hedwig, and Ghost, as well as the ravens. Harry had never seen it, but was looking forward to it. Severus had already assured him that he would have his own room there, as at school, and he could decorate the room as he chose, excepting anything with obscene language and pornographic pictures. Even Hedwig could fly free within the house and out of it, since Severus' Muggle neighbors thought he was a natural science professor with a masters in animal behavior, and therefore had a license to handle birds like owls and ravens.

After bidding goodbye to his friends, Harry Flooed over with his trunk and Hedwig. Ghost and Shriek followed, then Severus. Skull opted to fly home, his dislike of travel by fireplace well known. Severus had quickly added on a small guest room for Ghost, turning a utility closet into a spare room. He showed the shaman to his new quarters while Harry explored his new room.

The room was not huge, nothing on the scale of Dudley's, but it was much larger than the second bedroom Harry had been given after the letters started to arrive. It had single bed with a comfy dark blue spread on it and two large plump throw pillows to accent it. The sheets were a midnight blue and the walls were a neutral beige color. The carpet was a medium blue and there was a desk, chair, small recliner, closet, and a nightstand. There was even a small TV on a stand. Harry found the lights worked automatically when he entered. His trunk was at the foot of the bed, already open and waiting to be unpacked.

Harry placed Hedwig's cage next to the window, which was partially opened and the drapes were pulled to one side to let in the summer breeze.

"I hope that you find your room satisfactory for now," Severus commented as he came by to check on Harry.

Harry glanced up from sorting through his trunk and said, "It's great. Much better than what I used to live in at Privet Drive."

Severus grimaced. "I am sure it would be, considering what you had to put up with there. As I told you before, feel free to decorate it as you wish, as long as it's unoffensive. If you need something, just ask and we shall go out and shop for it. Your broom is downstairs hanging on the wall, next to mine."

"Can I fly whenever I want?"

"Yes, once you complete a few chores for the day," Severus allowed.

"Like what?" Harry had visions of cleaning the entire house.

But Severus said, "Simple things—tidying up your room and the bathroom, setting the table, and washing dishes and helping with meals if you'd like. You can also help me in my lab, provided you are careful and follow my instructions to the letter. Also, Tuesdays are rubbish day, you may empty the bins and place them out on the corner for pick up. The rest of that time can be spent doing your summer assignments and then how you choose. Because I live in a Muggle neighborhood, you shall have to watch your flying, Harry. Use Notice Me Not charms when you fly and leave me a note when you shall be flying, just in case."

"Can I write to my friends?"

"Yes, but the magical post here is always delivered at night, to minimize people seeing the owls with the mail. Skull can also be your messenger, he doesn't need a letter, merely dictate what you wish and he shall speak it. I shall leave you to get unpacked, dinner is at six, make sure you aren't late, else you might go hungry because Skull will eat your food."

Harry chuckled, sensing Severus was teasing. He knew Snape well enough by now to know the man would never starve him like his cruel relatives. Then he turned to unpack his schoolbooks and other paraphernalia. He had a feeling he was really going to like it here.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Three days later, an owl came before seven o'clock that evening with a letter postmarked with the Hogwarts crest and addressed to one _Harry James Potter, in care of Severus Snape, 11 Holly Drive, Little Yorkshire_. The owl brought the letter to Severus as they were finishing scraping the plates from dinner.

Harry looked up from drying the dishes and asked, "Dad, what's that?"

Severus looked up from clearing the table and replied, "Most likely your marks from this term. It had Dumbledore's handwriting on the envelope."

Harry goggled. "Uh . . . you know other people's handwriting?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know his marks and so stalled for time.

"Of course. I have received so many notes over the years from colleagues I have learned what each one's handwriting looks like." Severus picked up some bowls and spoons from the table and brought them over to Ghost, who was washing.

"That's a teacher for you," Ghost chuckled. "How do you think you did, Harry?"

"Uh . . . I'm not sure," Harry bit his lip, then began wiping a dish dry with unnecessary force.

Severus cleared his throat. "You'll find out when I get back from my visit with your relatives."

"You're going _now?_ protested Harry. "I thought you were doing that on Friday."

"No, I decided against it. I want this settled, the sooner the better," Severus stated. "You can stay here with Ghost, I'm sure he has some exercises you can do while you wait for me to return."

"Are you taking Skull?" asked Harry, relieved he didn't have to go with his adopted father. He never wanted to set foot on Privet Drive again.

"I would, but I have no idea where he's gone off to," Severus said, a tad annoyed.

"He and Shriek went off somewhere right before dinner," Ghost replied. "I'm sure they'll turn up when they're hungry, like always."

"Humph!" snorted the Potions Master. He placed the envelope on the now clean table. "I will review your marks with you later, Harry. Until then, keep your hands off the envelope or else I'll skin you."

"Aww, but _Dad_!" Harry groaned.

"Never mind that!" Severus ordered. "Just do as I say for once. Before you end up scrubbing my lab and grinding up beetle carapaces for a week. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry sighed, though he thought Severus was monstrously cruel to make him wait like that.

Ghost patted Harry on the shoulder. "Come on, son. Let's practice some new techniques in the astral. That'll pass the time till your dad comes home."

Harry subsided, he always enjoyed lessons with the shaman. He looked up once at his father. "Don't kill them, okay? I don't want you in prison."

"They are the last people I would put myself at risk for," Severus sneered. "I have no intention of killing them. That's the easy way out. I want them to suffer for the cruelty and neglect they have shown you and death is too quick."

"What are you going to do to them?" asked Harry curiously.

"I shall tell you afterwards," Severus hedged. In truth, he did not know exactly what he was going to do, and would not until he came face to face with Petunia and Vernon. With that, he picked up his broom and left the house. He would fly partway to Surrey and then Apparate the rest of the way, it would be less draining on his magic that way. And he would need his strength to give justice to the Dursleys.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Petunia hummed contentedly as she dusted the mantelpiece and set the rosewood clock with its brass hands back in place. There! Everything was as it should be. She stood back to admire her handiwork, everything was spic and span. Dudley was coming home from Smeltings tomorrow and she wanted everything to look nice for his homecoming. She spared nary a thought for her nephew, barely wondering when he would return from "that" school.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was half past seven, Vernon would be back from his Men's Club meeting soon. She absently dusted a lampshade. She couldn't wait until her lazy good-for-nothing nephew was home so he could take up the slack with the cleaning again. Really, it was the only thing the freaky boy was good for.

She went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of Earl Grey tea while she waited for Vernon to come home. A cup of tea always relaxed her before bed, though lately she'd slept like a baby without it now that her freaky nephew was out of the house. She dreaded when the messy haired boy came home again. Nothing was ever normal when he was here. Like his mother, he always dragged his freaky powers wherever he went. Petunia went hot with resentment. She had had to live with her sister's odd outbursts all through her childhood and teenage years until marrying Vernon, it hardly seemed fair that she had to relive those years again, along with her husband and son. All she had ever asked for was an ordinary life, among normal people. She had never wanted Harry in the first place. Only Dumbledore's obligatory letter, left in the basket along with the baby, had persuaded her to keep the child. That and the stipend. But she could see now it was a mistake. Harry had always been a disruptive influence in her life and she could not see it changing now.

She brought the steaming hot cup to her lips and started to sip it when the front door opened. Thinking it was Vernon, she smiled and cried, "Love muffin, you're home! I saved you some of those delicious iced cakes Mrs. Aberforth made." She stammered to a halt as she saw the tall figure in the entryway was _not_ her portly husband. "_You_!" she gasped, and the tea cup fell from her hand to shatter on the tile. She never even noticed, all her attention was fixed on the figure in black who stood menacingly in the foyer.

"Me," replied Severus shortly. "Hello, Petunia."

Petunia looked down at the remnants of her tea and cried, "What are _you_ doing here, Snape? How dare you enter my home, you miserable black crow? I'm not my sister."

Severus approached, taking several long strides towards her until he was standing at the edge of the kitchen. He crossed his arms over his chest to look more intimidating than was his wont and raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Obviously. You are nothing like Lily."

"Thank God for that!" her sister snorted. "Why are you here, Snape? I must admit, you look hardly better than when I first saw you, wearing that oversized smock of your mother's."

Severus stiffened and sneered, "My clothes were too big because I, like your nephew, wore hand-me-downs. Only those were from my father, _not_ my oversize cousin. And I wore them because we were too poor to afford new ones. Unlike you, Petunia, who received money every month for Harry's upkeep. What did you do with it? Waste it on your spoiled brat son? Spend it on yourselves? Because it sure as hell wasn't spent on whom it was intended for."

"That's no business of yours!" Petunia spat. "It wasn't _me_ who dropped him off on the stoop all those years ago, with the milk delivery. You were lucky we took him in, out of the goodness of our hearts—"

"Oh, _please_! Spare me your litany of lies, woman!" sneered the Potions Master. "_The goodness of your heart_ indeed! What goodness you had was sucked dry from greed, selfishness, and jealousy long ago. You always resented Lily and me for having magic, she told me about the letter you wrote to Dumbledore. And that hasn't changed. You clearly resent her son, simply for existing."

Petunia turned an odd shade of red, like a neon sign. "How _dare_ you barge in here like the devil himself and lecture _me_? You don't know what it's like to raise a freak—all the times he embarrassed me in front of people until I taught him to shut up and pretend to be part of the furniture. I wasn't meant to bear this burden . . . to have my life turned upside down by Lily's brat! To have my husband and son tormented by his wicked powers day in and day out. Maybe that's normal for _you_ people, but I don't have to live that way! And I won't, do you hear?"

"Perfectly. You are shrieking loud enough to wake the dead," Severus said, his tone deadly soft. "But then, you have never been one to make compromises. It was always all or nothing with you. You either hated or you loved, there was no inbetween. You despised Lily for having your parents' love and approval despite being a witch—"

"Yes, I did! Mama and Papa never said a word when she did freaky things—they always said she couldn't help it! But they were wrong. If they had wanted, they could have turned her back into a normal person, like she was before. All they had to do was forbid her to use her freaky powers. But no, they encouraged her, like she had some talent that was special, that she was somehow better than everyone! But I always knew the truth! I would have had her locked away in an asylum if anyone would have believed a fourteen-year-old girl."

"Petunia, you are a fool! And worse, because you refuse to acknowledge what's right before your nose. You cannot stop using magic when you are born with it. It is like having an artistic talent, you _must_ use it or it shall use you. Your hidebound archaic attitude is why we hesitate to inform Muggles about us and our world. Because people like you see only what they want to see—a freak from a circus—not a person with a gift. I can imagine how you treated your nephew if the way you talked about your sister was any indication."

"I never wanted him in the first place! I was pressured into it! Why didn't you take him, Snape, if you're so concerned about how we treated him? It's been ten years since he was left on my doorstep."

"I was not offered the chance. Until now. That was why I came here, to tell you Harry is no longer your responsibility. He is mine. I came for that, and to see for myself the truth of things." His eyes narrowed. "Is it true you kept him locked in a _cupboard_, you bitter bitch? With the mops and brooms? Like a dirty old rag?"

Petunia shrank back from him, the look on Snape's face was terrible to behold. "I . . . I . . . well . . . it was Vernon who thought of it . . . keep him out of sight and . . . hidden . . . after all, we didn't want the neighbors to know he was a freak . . . ."

"A _wizard_, not a freak," Severus spat and looked about. "Where was it? Show me!"

Trembling, Petunia pointed to the cupboard under the stairs.

Severus spun, and saw the tiny door, big enough for a child half Harry's size. He yanked open the door and found some words scrawled in crayon—_Harry's room_-on the door. Inside was an old ratty mattress, a tattered blanket, a foul-smelling bucket and some cleaning supplies.

Severus swore. "You kept a child here? He had barely room to turn about, much less stand up. You loathsome ignorant hag! He's your _nephew_, not a dog. Hell, I know people who treat their dogs better than this." He stood up so fast he almost cracked his head on the lintel.

"I don't owe you an explanation, Snape! The note said I had to keep him until he was old enough to fend for himself. It said nothing about how. I wasn't required to love him—who could? I had a son, I didn't need anymore brats cluttering up my house." Her venom was palpable.

Severus ground his teeth together. "Dumbledore was a fool too. He never should have left Harry with you bunch of beasts, who pretend you're human but act worse than wild animals. Even snakes protect their young. Do you expect me to pity you, Petunia? You arouse the same disgust in me as a cockroach under my boot. For how you have treated your own flesh and blood, you ought to be put away. What would the neighbors say, if they knew the truth about you and your _ordinary_ family?"

"They know that I've had problems with the boy. I made sure they thought he was a delinquent with psychological problems. All my neighbors felt sorry for me, having to put up with his violent outbursts and lies."

"Oh? But they didn't realize the one who was telling the lies was you," Severus said coldly. "I wonder what they would think if they knew the truth—that you are an abusive rotten liar and your husband and son are just as bad?"

"You—you leave them out of this, Snape!" Petunia shook her fist at him.

"Why? They took part in it, the same as you did. Only fitting they share the same punishment."

"_What_ punishment? You have no right! You scummy scoundrel!"

Severus laughed softly. "Is that the best you can do? I have every right to dispense justice for my ward. Something which you have escaped until now. But no longer. Now you shall feel a wizard's wrath." He pointed his wand and chanted a long sonorous phrase in Latin.

"What are you doing, Snape? What spell did you cast on me?" she babbled, suddenly terrified. This was no longer the grubby boy she had known, but a stranger with a terrible aura who scared her to pieces.

"Oh, and by the way, that nice chunk of money you've been living off of? It now belongs to me. And no more shall be coming, so you and your leech of a husband will need to find other income. Or else lose everything."

"_What_? You can't do that, Snape! You owe me for putting up with the brat all these years!" she shrieked.

He turned and started to leave.

She caught his arm.

He whirled, his face twisting into a mask of hatred. "Release me, woman! Never lay a hand on me again. You disgust me."

She shrank back. "But . . . Snape . . . you have to give me the money . . . we need it . . ."

"To pay for this ostentatious pile you call a home? To send your spoiled brat to a private school? To take a holiday by the sea? Or buy a new car? Too bad. It's over, Petunia. _Finito_. Now you can live like the rest of the neighbors . . . within your means." He bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

"What . . . do you mean?" she stammered, one hand going to her mouth.

"You'll see. You wanted an ordinary life, Petunia? Now live what you wished for. With a few . . . alterations." He waved his wand and walked down the hall to the foyer.

"Snape!" she screeched. "I don't understand! You can't leave! You have to explain."

"Just wait," he declared callously. Then he walked out the door and vanished, leaving Petunia hanging onto the doorframe, gaping out into the night at the empty sidewalk.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry nearly fell asleep waiting for Severus to come home. But he managed to stay awake until he heard the sound of boots on the porch and then Severus came in the door and hung his broom up. "You're home!"

"I am. Is there a reason you're so bouncy at nine o'clock at night?" Severus queried, deadpan.

Harry scowled. "_Dad_! You're not senile. You know why."

An ebony brow lofted upwards. "Indeed. And I also know a certain child who is skating on thin ice with his attitude. Do I hear you volunteering to scrub vials with a toothbrush, Mr. Potter?"

"No . . . I just . . . sorry . . . it's just, I've waited all night . . ." Harry said quickly.

"Give the kid a break, Sev, and just open the envelope before he pukes all over from nerves," Ghost put in from his place on the recliner.

"I will not!" Harry protested. "I'm _not_ nervous. Well, only a little."

"You need not be. I know for a fact you have not gotten a T in anything," Severus said matter-of-factly, going into the kitchen to fetch the envelope.

"How about a D?" Harry muttered. Then he watched as Severus slit the envelope and a creamy piece of parchment fell out.

The Potions Master took his time unfolding the letter, and made Harry clench his fists and want to scream.

"What did I get?" he muttered, his insides doing a tap dance.

Severus held out the parchment. "See for yourself."

Harry took the paper. On it was written, _Harry James Potter_ and below it were the grades he had earned for all seven core subjects. They were as follows:

Transfiguration—E

Charms—E

Flying—O

Potions—E

Astronomy—A

Herbology—E

History of Magic—A-

Defense Against the Dark Arts—O

Harry drew in a breath. "I . . . I didn't fail it."

"Did I not just say that? Something wrong with your ears?" Severus asked shortly.

"No, but . . . even with your tutoring I was sure . . . it was so boring and there were so many questions . . ."

"It is as I said. You can accomplish anything once you set your mind to it." Severus clapped him on the shoulder.

Harry felt a grin come over him. It was the first time any adult had ever praised him for getting good marks. No, not just getting them. _Earning_ them. He felt about ten feet tall. "Thanks, Dad."

"Good job, Harry. But next time I expect to see some improvement," Severus added, not wanting the boy to get a swelled head.

"Oh, I will." Harry promised. He couldn't stop grinning.

"Way to go, Harry!" Ghost praised.

"I knew you could do it, _bran-boy_!" Skull croaked from the back of the couch, where he'd been sleeping next to Shriek.

"You're one smart cookie," Shriek said after flying over to see the sheet of parchment.

"And now, Mr. Genius, it's time for bed," Severus said sternly.

"Aww, Dad! I wanted to hear what you did to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."

"That is a tale told another time. Bed, Harry."

Harry glared at Severus mutinously.

Severus glared back.

Sensing he wasn't going to win, Harry gave in and went down the hallway to his room. Parents! One minute they were acting cool, the next they became drill sergeants.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

When nothing untoward seemed to happen that night or the next morning, Petunia thought that Snape might have been bluffing, after all who was he but a greasy scraggly ne'er-do-well from Spinner's End with no class and no money? All these magic people were crazy. Vernon had said she wasn't to worry, that they were well rid of the little bugger. She began to get out the breakfast things—eggs, bread, butter, bacon.

It was then she noticed the spot. It was a small stain on the floor, but she bent to wipe it up. She couldn't recall anything spilling, but obviously, something must have. She went to scramble the eggs.

Then she saw the spot was back. Only bigger. She wiped it up again.

She had almost finished the toast and bacon when she saw another spot. Then another. And another.

They kept appearing the faster she mopped them up, until she was panting with exertion and the smell of burnt bacon filled the kitchen.

"_Sna-a-_pe!" she wailed, nearly tearing out her hair. Then she tossed the burnt bacon into the rubbish bin.

This happened all over the house, and soon she was a nervous wreck. Her former tidy home looked like a refugee shelter, no matter how hard she tried to scrub it back to normal.

"It's all that freak's fault!" she complained to Vernon, who was shoveling eggs in his mouth as quickly as he could.

"Maybe it'll wear off," he said, avoiding her eyes.

"When? I can't live like this!"

"Pet, calm down. Your blood pressure . . ."

"Can go hang! We're cursed!"

"Now don't go getting any funny notions, Pet. You don't want to be like your sister."

"Damn all wizards!" Petunia snarled, then went to get out the mop. She wanted to torture Snape. How dare he curse her like this?

Then the spots disappeared and there was dust in the air. At first it was small things, like her prize tulips dying from weeds suddenly springing up in the garden. One morning, Vernon's car wouldn't start and he was late to work, earning a reprimand. Dudley came home, and he waddled when he walked, making people comment behind their hands on the street.

"Mummy! Look at that fat kid! He's like a whale!" exclaimed a toddler as Dudley walked by on his way to Piers' house to play video games.

Dudley also started tripping over his own feet and feeling something shove him, but when he looked, there was no one there. He started eating more because he couldn't handle the stress.

Then the school nurse called and said that Dudley needed to attend fat camp, he was too overweight and his health was suffering.

Reluctantly, Petunia signed the papers.

That was when the rumors started.

At first they were only gossip from a few neighbors.

"Have you heard about Dudley Dursley? I heard he had to be taken to a fat farm. He was three times the size of an ordinary boy."

"Terrible! How could any good parent let him eat himself almost to death?"

"Well . . . I heard that some long lost relative came and took their nephew away and sued them for abuse!"

"No!"

"Yes! Turned out the boy was being starved and locked in a closet."

"How horrible! You know, I always thought there was something . . . wrong with those Durselys. They always were a bit . . . odd."

"Think of it! That Petunia was always putting on airs and now we find out she's a despicable woman who abuses her own nephew!"

"I heard she made him scrub the floor like a slave!"

"I heard she stole money from the trust fund his mum and dad left."

"Really? How awful!"

Before long the rumors were in full swing and every time Petunia stepped outside, she was met with frigid stares and silence. No one would speak to her or Vernon.

Vernon claimed there was something wrong with her cooking, because everything he ate tasted like cardboard. He started buying lunch out. Petunia wanted to cry. She was a pariah in the neighborhood and her husband didn't like her cooking.

Next thing she knew, Vernon received a summons at work, and they were being investigated by the police and child services. As a result, Vernon was demoted down to plant worker and lost his management perks and benefits. His boss refused to have a child abuser in a position of authority, even though much of the case was unproven. It was bad for business.

Petunia was at her wits end. "This is all Snape's fault, the rotter! Him and that bloody brat of Lily's!"

They were under surveillance by Child Services and everyone on the street was whispering about the disgrace and how the Dursleys were liars and odd people. Petunia's house was a wreck and she couldn't even hold her head up at the market. She had cancelled her membership at the Ladies Auxilliary and other clubs she belonged to because no one would give her the time of day. She had even caught one woman giggling and calling her, "That odd Petunia Dursley."

Her life had been turned topsy-turvey. Suddenly her ordinary existence had become anything but. And no one save her knew the truth. Whenever she tried to explain it to anyone, they laughed in her face. There were no such things as curses. Or wizards.

She felt her life crumbling around her. Once they had fit right in, ordinary people living an ordinary existence, save for the aberration known as Harry. But no longer. Now they scrimped and struggled, and Vernon was sneered at by his coworkers and Dudley was a laughingstock, nicknamed "Fat Dud" at camp.

Three weeks later, a tall man dressed all in black came walking down the street. Accompanying him was a boy with flyaway hair and green eyes dressed in jeans and a red and gold T-shirt. They stopped at Number 4.

On the lawn was a large white sign with the words—**For Sale By Owner Must Go Soon—Moving!**

The boy gaped at the sign, unable to believe his eyes.

"Oh, you don't want to buy that house," a blond woman next door called. "That's the Dursley place. It's an eyesore and the owners are the strangest people."

"So I've heard," drawled the man in black.

"You wouldn't believe the things I've heard . . ."

Behind his hand, the boy grinned. "So, they're really moving?"

"Yes, and good riddance! We can't have their sort here. This is a respectable neighborhood."

"Of course not," agreed the man. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come, son. We've seen enough. This isn't where we belong."

They started to walk down the street. When they were out of sight around the corner, Harry doubled over, laughing fit to die. "Dad, that was brilliant!"

And Severus Snape smirked. "No, that's a Slytherin revenge."

Then they were gone, and Privet Drive returned to its ordinary state once more.

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas! As you can see, I used bits and pieces of many of them. What did you think?**

**Next: part two-a new character, a new school year, and new perils for Harry and Sev.**


	46. Relative Surprises

**Part Two**

**A Serpent's Heart**

**46**

**Relative Surprises**

Before Harry knew it, the week had flown by, and suddenly it was time for Ghost to return to America and the "wilds" of South Dakota, as he put it. Harry knew he would miss the older wizard dreadfully, for he had come to rely on the shaman as a guide on the astral, even though Ghost had been allowing him to go into the Place Between Worlds by himself for an hour or two these last sessions. He felt comforted when the shaman, Shriek, and Skull were nearby, even though he could Travel, and had, alone.

For their last session, Ghost and Harry traveled out on the moor, where a large twisted tree grew and there were no people for miles in either direction. "You asked me once whether I could shift into the form of another animal," the shaman began, striding up to the tree. "I told you my other form is a raven. Would you care to see it?"

"Sure!" Harry said, watching as his long-legged mentor climbed up the tree as easy as a squirrel. "What are you doing, Ghost?"

"Getting some height," he called down as he reached a large branch. "I hate shifting on the ground. Ravens are supposed to be creatures of the air." He walked easily out onto the gnarled limb. "Now, kid, don't try this alone or at all in front of Sev, he might have a heart attack. You have no idea how many times I hit my head before I got the hang of this."

The shaman balanced perfectly on the limb. Then, in a movement so swift Harry could barely follow it, he somersaulted _off_ the branch.

For a single minute he hung suspended in midair. Then a white smoke drifted about his form, obscuring it from view.

A black raven, slightly smaller than Skull, soared out of the smoke and flew circles about Harry's head, cawing.

The boy laughed. "Wow! That was awesome! Wish I could do that."

The raven fluttered down until he was hovering at eye level. "Ah, I was showing off a little. Shifters are a dime a dozen where I'm from. Any wizard worth his salt can shift into some form, it just depends on what it is. I've known shamans who become bears and some who become lizards. Even insects, if they aren't too great and powerful."

"Could you . . . maybe . . . teach me?"

"Another time, Harry. Shifting and finding your spirit shape takes time, more time, unfortunately than I have right now. But tell you what. Maybe I can arrange something with Sev for next summer or the one after it. It'll take you that long to even develop the concentration necessary to maintain a shift. I usually don't teach shapeshifting until my apprentice is twelve or over."

Harry sighed. "Oh. I didn't realize . . ." He had hoped he could learn quickly, but it appeared not.

"Don't look so down in the mouth. You have your Traveling talent to practice on, that's enough for now. By this time next summer you should be relatively comfortable with it." Ghost said, flapping large midnight wings. "I may even see you sooner than that, if Shriek and Skull are any indication."

"You mean . . . they might become mates?"

"If I know my raven, she'll have him pledging his eternal faithfulness before we leave tonight," the shaman chuckled.

"Is that how they do it? Ravens, I mean? Shriek said they mate for life."

"They do. And mating critters aren't really my specialty, so I can't say exactly. But she sure does like him and I think he loves her too. And with birds, along with most other species, that's enough." Abruptly, the raven transformed back into the Mesquakie shaman again. He sank crosslegged to the ground beside Harry. "How about we take one more trip into the astral, then we can call it a day and do something fun."

"Like play cards?" Harry suggested. "Poker?"

Ghost snickered. "I'll go a few hands with you, boy. Long as you keep it quiet. I have a feeling Sev would get mighty riled if he found out I taught you how to gamble. Might skin me and hang me out to dry."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Harry snorted. He settled his back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes, trying to find his center.

Fifteen minutes later they were seated on the ground with a blanket between them and Ghost was laying out a deck of cards, showing Harry the hands and what beat what and how to bet. Harry was having the time of his life. He wondered if Severus knew how to play poker and if he might sometime, if Harry asked him nicely, when he was in a good mood. This was a fun game, especially when played for Knuts or sweets, which was what they were playing for.

In a few minutes, Harry had almost mastered the hands and suits, and inquired spunkily, "When are you going to teach me strip poker, Ghost?"

The shaman almost choked. "When you're married and Severus is senile. You think I've a death wish, kid? Get your mind out of the gutter, brat!"

Harry smirked, then added, "Just kidding. Dad would have croaked if I'd said that to him."

"I almost did, you wretch! Taking after old Skull now, are you?" Ghost waved a chiding finger at him.

"No. Skull could say that and get away with it. Not me. I'd be scrubbing cauldrons till my fingers fell off. Or something worse." Harry said, studying the cards.

Ghost nodded. Teaching Severus Snape's son how to play strip poker was up on the list he kept of how not to piss off volatile wizards and keep breathing. He shuffled the cards and began to deal.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

They returned from their lesson (and card playing) in time for lunch. They found Severus taking a break from brewing some extra healing drafts for the Hospital Wing at Poppy's request. He was fixing a salad with grilled chicken and other toppings, like dried cranberries, walnuts, and grapes. There was also a raspberry vinaigrette dressing on the side and some warm wheat rolls. A pitcher of water with lemon and another, smaller one, of pumpkin juice sat on the table. The professor looked up as he tossed the salad as the two entered.

"Looks like you're just in time," he remarked.

"Yeah, we followed our noses home," Ghost laughed. "And I'm starving. Haven't had a bite since breakfast this morning."

"Me too," said Harry, his stomach was growling.

"Have a seat. I'll be done shortly," Severus said, waving them to the table, which was set for three.

Harry sat, noticing abruptly that Severus was no longer dressed in his school robes. Instead he wore an ivory shirt with a button undone on the collar, sleeves were rolled up slightly, and his trousers were a dark grey with casual gray half boots. His belt was of black leather, with a Slytherin crest buckle. The man's hair was drawn back with a leather tie, and though there was a tiny frown of concentration on his face, he wasn't at all the forbidding instructor he used to be. In fact he seemed rather relaxed.

Severus floated the food to the table and they began to eat. As Harry was lifting a forkful of chicken to his mouth, Shriek and Skull arrived via the kitchen window and landed on the table.

"Ah, lunchtime!" Skull crowed. "What a perfect wedding meal."

"Cranberries!" Shriek cawed. "My favorite!" she helped herself to some on Ghost's plate unashamedly.

"Just eat my food, why don't you?" Ghost muttered, sounding slightly put out. "It's not like you can hunt your own."

Shriek paused with a cranberry in her beak. "Of course I can, but it's more fun to do this." She gulped the cranberry down and fished out another before Ghost could eat a second forkful.

Harry drank some pumpkin juice and carefully wiped his mouth before querying, "What was that thing about a wedding meal, Skull?" Since coming to live with Severus, Harry had learned to display good table manners, at least while his father was there, or else risk a quick reprimand. Table manners and teenagers were one of Snape's pet peeves.

Skull looked up from where he was gobbling a piece of chicken, given to him by his master, who had cut up a strip along with some greens and walnuts for the raven to eat. "Hmm. Oh, that. Well, Shriek finally convinced me to marry her."

Severus almost choked on his salad, saving himself at the last second by taking a drink of water. "You're _what_? For a second there I thought you said you were married." He stared at the raven.

"We are," purred Shriek. "I asked and he accepted. Then we had a short mating flight. But I flew his wings off anyhow," she said coyly, ducking her head into her wing for a moment.

"Did not! You're exaggerating," Skull protested, his crest standing up.

Shriek glared at him. "Would I do that, dear?"

"You'll do whatever you can get away with, lady," Ghost remarked, his blue eyes glowing. "Don't let her boss you around, Skull. Otherwise she'll be impossible."

"Says the man who invented the word," returned the raven saucily. "Besides, Skull _likes_ sassy females."

"So do I, but you're unbelievable," Ghost snorted.

"Ha! I'll be sure to mention that to Susan Sly Fox at the next Fourth of July gathering," Shriek sniffed.

Ghost scowled. "You do and I'll buy you a one way ticket across the Atlantic."

Shriek hopped on his shoulder and began to preen his hair. "Oh, don't get into a snit, Ghostie. You know half the women there won't be able to resist you, sassy or otherwise."

Ghost rolled his eyes. "Heaven help you, Skull. But . . . congratulations."

"Thank you," Skull was puffed up with pride. "Sev, aren't you going to say something? Or will you just sit there like a lump?"

The Potions Master gathered himself and said, "Be quiet! It's not everyday your mouthy raven picks a mate. I wanted to savor the sudden quiet. Of course, that won't last long. Not unless I stuff you."

Skull nipped Severus' ear. "Be nice! You wouldn't want me to leave orphaned fledglings behind, now would you? What would my kids think if they saw me mounted on a wall?"

"How to behave," grunted his master, but a slight smirk curled up one corner of his mouth. "My sincerest congratulations, Skullduggery." Then he turned to Shriek. "And for you, my lady, my deepest condolences for putting up with such a reprobate."

Shriek emitted a high-pitched squawk, a raven's version of laughter.

"_Reprobrate!_" Skull cried indignantly. "Severus Snape, what a thing to say!"

"If the shoe fits . . ."

"One of these nights I'm going to lose it and bite off the tip of your big fat nose!" threatened the raven.

Severus ruffled the indignant avian's feathers. "Quit being a drama queen. You know what I mean."

"You're an insensitive idiot," huffed the raven.

"And you're my familiar, so what does that say about you, Wise One?"

"Merlin help me!" the raven said, sounding exactly like Madam Pomfrey.

"Are you going to stay with Shriek now?" Harry asked, afraid that now Skull would leave them.

"No, _bran-boy_. Not till the chicks are hatched. Shriek can manage the nest and all without me, right, sweet one?"

Shriek winked at her mate. "Not a problem. Ravens don't need partners until after the little ones are born, Harry. Though we like others of our kind, we don't need to be dependent upon our mates to bring us food, like songbirds. My eggs will be safe in Ghost's lodge in the rafters and no predator would dare enter there. I'll have to incubate them most of the time, but Ghost will give me food and water and I should be fine."

"Um . . . . have you . . . laid eggs before?"

"No. But it's instinct, so it should be easy. We'll write as soon as the babies are born." Shriek said.

"How long will it take? For the eggs to hatch?" Harry clarified while eating a roll.

Shriek replied, "The incubation period is anywhere from twenty to twenty-five days. On average, I might have five to seven eggs. Of course, some may not hatch. It all depends."

"You mean, some of the babies could die?" Harry gasped, thinking how horrible that would be.

"Well, that's a possibility, especially if I was in the wild, but no, sometimes all the eggs laid don't catch, and there could be one or two without any offspring inside. Like your infertile cluck me chicken eggs."

"I'll write you as soon as the babies are here," Ghost promised.

"And I'll send Skull over to help for about a month or so," Severus agreed. "Is that sufficient?"

"If it's not, we'll let you know," Ghost said. "Mmm. You make a mean salad, Severus."

"Thank you. Will you still be here for dinner? I'm making a roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, and string beans with oregano, garlic, and olive oil," Severus asked.

"With that menu, my friend, how could I pass that up?" Ghost laughed. "You've spoiled me, Snape. At home I have chicken or venison stew nearly every night. Unless some poor widow takes pity on me and brings me supper."

"Yeah, he just has to give them the old puppydog look and they line up outside his lodge," Shriek informed them. "It's pathetic!"

"Liar. Only Wintergreen feeds me on a regular basis, and that's because she's hoping I'll put a ring on her finger."

"I wish you would. She's becoming annoying."

"No way, bird. She's no Anne, and I won't settle for anything less."

"Humph! Being too picky will ensure you remain alone for the rest of your life," the white raven sniped.

"Hey, not everyone's as eager to pledge their heart and soul as you are, lovebird," Ghost pointed out. "Some of us just want to be left alone. Right, Severus?"

"Sometimes," the Potions Master replied, for a part of him did enjoy Lena's company.

"You're just scared you'll lose your heart again," Shriek accused.

"Maybe and maybe not. Now get off the subject, pretty bird," ordered the shaman tiredly. "Creator, but I pity you, Skull, dealing with a mouthy piece like her."

"He's just as bad," Severus said wryly, earning a black look from the raven.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

After dinner that night, Ghost made preparations to leave, promising Harry that he would write as soon as the baby ravens were born. "And if you need me, Harry, for anything, don't hesitate to write me or call me into the astral. I wish I could stay longer, but I have duties that are rather pressing back home and you're as trained as I can make you, enough so you won't sleepwalk or endanger yourself without knowing." He slung his pack over his shoulder and gave Harry a hug and shook Severus' hand.

"You are welcome in my home any time," Severus said. "And of course, so is Shriek. We look forward to hearing from you."

"And I look forward to writing you, my friend," Ghost grinned.

Shriek and Skull were making odd noises, sort of like purring and then they curled their necks about each other, almost like lovebirds. Shriek said something in raven speak and Skull responded, then the two flew together into the air for a moment before Shriek came down to settle on Ghost's arm.

"Goodbye, Shriek. Good luck with the babies," Harry said, and gave the white raven a final scratch. He would miss the flippant bird and her master something fierce.

"Thank you, Harry," Shriek warbled. "Come on, Ghost. Time's flying."

"Keep your feathers on, bird," Ghost ordered. "Until we meet again, Sev, Harry." He tossed down some Floo Powder and called out, "Ministry of Magic, London" before stepping into the green flames and vanishing. From there he would go home using their Floo Network.

Harry stared at the empty hearth forlornly until Severus put a hand on his shoulder and turned him about. "Dishes, Harry. And after, we can play chess if you'd like."

Actually, Harry would have rather played five card stud, but he knew better than to suggest that to Severus. He hurried over to the sink to scrub the plates, wishing that Shriek would have the baby ravens soon, so he could see them and the shaman again.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

About two weeks after Ghost's return to America along with Shriek, there came a knock at the door of the Snape residence one early morning.

"Sev, we've got company," Skull called as he flew in the kitchen window and landed on the table, which Harry was setting for breakfast.

Severus half turned from the stove where he was making vegetable and cheese omelets with a side of bacon. "Do you know who it is? Harry, wait before you open the door." Severus was wary because of past acquaintances with Death Eaters, even though none of his former "friends" knew where he lived now. Still, one could never be too sure and his cautious attitude had saved his life in the past.

"A certain meddling old man of our acquaintance," Skull warbled.

"Dumbledore?" Harry guessed.

"Got it in one!" the raven praised. "I saw his moon and stars robe from forty feet away coming up the walk. Man's like a carnival gypsy, or an ostentatious parrot."

Severus hid a smirk as a firm knock came at the door. "Harry, invite the Headmaster inside."

Harry went to answer the door. Sure enough, he found Dumbledore waiting on the mat. "Hello, Professor."

"Good morning, Harry! I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, sir. Come in. I've been up for ages, Dad doesn't let me sleep in unless I'm dying," Harry informed the old man, standing aside so he could enter the house.

"Ah. Yes, Severus always was an early riser. Must be a thing with Potions Masters. Horace was like that too." He entered the home and followed Harry into the kitchen. "Hello, Severus!"

Severus gave a short nod. "Hello, Albus. Have a seat. Breakfast will be ready shortly, unless you've already eaten?"

The Headmaster seated himself, smiling jovially. "No, I didn't come here to eat, but if you're offering . . ."

"Don't ever pass up Sev's cooking. You'll insult him," Skull chirruped. "Besides, he makes a mean omelet."

"Hello, Skull," Dumbledore laughed. "How are things with you?"

"Fine. Better than fine, actually, since I tied the knot. Got mated last week with Shriek and she's expecting soon. Before I know it, I'll be a father like Sev." The raven preened himself.

Dumbledore looked a little startled. "Oh, that's wonderful, Skull! Congratulations."

"Yup. Couldn't happen to a nicer raven, eh?"

Before Dumbledore could answer, Severus cut in. "Nothing like getting a swelled head."

"You're just jealous," Skull snapped.

"In your dreams," snorted his master, flipping an omelet over.

Harry snickered at the banter and Dumbledore eyed him and said, "It seems you and Professor Snape are getting on well, Harry."

"Yes, he hasn't had to scrub my lab floor in a week," remarked Severus.

"And he only beats me on Sundays," Harry added with a cheeky grin.

Dumbledore looked alarmed for a moment before he realized Harry was kidding. "That's mighty nice of you, Severus."

Severus cranked his head around to glare at Harry. "But I think I just had a volunteer to go over the floor with a scrub brush, vinegar, and water to make it shine."

"It was a _joke_, Dad!" Harry objected. "Merlin's foot!"

"I've got the bucket by the stairs," Severus warned.

"Um . . . sorry," He turned to the headmaster. "I was only kidding, sir. My relatives took a swing at me more than Professor Snape ever did."

Dumbledore coughed uncomfortably at the mention of the Dursleys. "Actually, they're the reason I—"

"Don't let Sev fool you, Headmaster," Skull interrupted. "He might act like a stern hardass but he's actually a mushy gushy teddy bear at heart."

"I also heard a raven volunteer to become a paperweight," Severus snarled, turning a rather interesting shade of red.

Harry had clamped a hand over his mouth, but giggles were emerging despite that, and Dumbledore seemed to be having a coughing fit until Snape swatted him on the back.

"Breathe, Albus," Severus muttered before setting down the plate with omelets. "And have some breakfast before some of it ends up all over a certain mouthy raven."

"Forgive me, Severus," Albus said, wiping his face. "But you do have a certain reputation."

"Humph! If you believe Skull, I have a monster in Loch Ness to show you," the professor said sarcastically. He scowled at the raven. "Just for that comment, you ought to go without breakfast."

Skull pretended to look chastened. "Aww, Sev! You're so touchy. But I love you anyway." He made smooching sounds at the professor, who just rolled his eyes.

"Harry, sit and eat. He wasn't _that_ funny."

Harry obeyed, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, right. I love it when he calls your bluff." He helped himself to an omelet and some bacon along with some pumpkin juice, tea, and toast with jam.

Severus shot him a Look, but then sat down as well to eat. Skull perched between him and Dumbledore, who fed the bird from his plate and ignored Snape's glowers.

For several minutes there was no sound except for people eating. The omelets were first rate, though Harry expected nothing less from a potions perfectionist who regarded cooking as similar to putting together a solution. Plus, Severus had been raised, as he had, in a Muggle household, and learned to cook fairly early on in life.

"Delicious, Severus," Dumbledore praised as he finished what he had taken and went back for seconds. As he leisurely ate the second portion, he said quietly, "As I was saying, I know you paid a visit to the Dursleys a week or so ago. And I was wondering . . ."

"If they're dead?" Severus inquired bitingly. "Unfortunately, no. They're alive, though they probably don't like what is happening to them right now."

"What did you do to them?" asked Dumbledore.

"I gave them precisely what they deserved. They aren't dead, hung, drawn, or quartered, if that's what you were wondering."

"Are they still human?"

"Yes. But hopefully a little more humble than they were before."

"Ha! That'd take a miracle," Harry said.

"You can see for yourself next week," said the professor. "By then the lesson should have sunk in deeply."

"You hope," Harry shrugged.

"Some people are like idiots," Skull commented. "They never learn, no matter how much you correct them."

"Well, at least I don't have to live with them anymore."

"And I don't have to bail Severus out of prison," Dumbledore added with a naughty twinkle in his eye.

"Did you think otherwise, Albus?" Severus inquired testily. "I'm a man of my word."

"Of course you are," soothed the old wizard. "I didn't mean to imply otherwise. But there is always temptation."

"And save for once, I have always avoided it," returned the Head of Slytherin. "But if you don't trust me, feel free to look in on Privet Drive."

"No, Severus. Your word is good enough for me," Dumbledore said apologetically.

"But what did you _do_ to them?" asked Harry.

"That is for me to know and you to wonder," replied the Potions Master enigmatically. "Now finish your breakfast."

"I'm done. Can't eat another bite."

Severus surveyed Harry's half-full plate. "Oh?"

"I'm full. Honest."

"And how many donuts did you share with Skull this morning at five AM?"

Harry blushed. "Err . . . how'd you know . . . I mean . . ."

"The empty carton was a dead giveaway," Severus answered.

"Oh, Severus!" Albus laughed. "You sound like an old woman! Let the boy live a little."

"And drop dead of a heart attack?" inquired Snape icily. "Not on my watch."

"A little sweet tooth never hurt anyone," the Headmaster protested.

"Says the king of all sweet tooths," Severus said acerbically.

"He's just a boy, Severus."

"But he's _my_ boy, Albus. Therefore he follows my rules." He looked over at Harry. "Don't come whining to me later that your stomach hurts. And no sneaking drafts out of the remedies cabinet either."

Harry made a face. "You're mean."

"And it's your own fault," Severus returned.

Harry sighed. He'd have to pray he didn't get sick, or else he'd suffer for it. Until Dumbledore nudged him under the table. Harry peered down and saw a small vial near his foot and hid a grin. He mouthed a thank you to the old man before pretending to tie his trainer and palming the vial. The Headmaster was as sneaky as a Slytherin sometimes.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Not too long after Harry paid a visit to the Dursley residence with Severus, he received letters from his friends asking if he could come visit. So he spent a few days, namely two, at the Burrow, Malfoy Manor, and the Longbottom residence. Hermione was in France so she couldn't have him over, and then Severus received a letter from Ghost, saying that Shriek had just laid six eggs and was laying on them.

Skullduggery was so proud he strutted about telling anyone who would listen about his impending fatherhood until Severus told him to shut up before he made his fledglings orphans because their father was so bloody annoying.

Harry was about to beg Severus for a trip to America when another envelope came, postmarked from Manhattan. It bore the logo of the American branch of Wizarding Child Services.

Severus frowned before he opened the envelope and Harry asked, "I didn't know you had any relatives in America."

Severus did not reply, but slid out the sheet of parchment and began to read.

"So . . . he's dead."

"Huh? _Who's_ dead?"

"My uncle, Sulla Antonius Prince. He was my mother's younger brother. He inherited the Prince estate upon the death of my grandparents years ago, but instead of remaining to take up his responsibilities and title, he took off and ended up in America, New York City, I think. He became some big political businessman over there and married an American heiress whose ancestors dated back to Salem and the witch trials over there."

"Really? Did you ever meet him?"

"No. He was gone right after my mother married. It seems there was big scandal or some such with him, I never really cared to dig any deeper, but my grandparents cut him off without a cent for a time, though they never really disowned him. I think it had something to do with the wrong people in the wrong circles," Severus answered. Meaning that his uncle had been hobnobbing with unsavory criminals, like Death Eaters, or so Severus suspected. "Years after I was born, my Prince grandparents died and the estate came to Sulla, as the nearest male relation besides me. My mother had to come to the funeral in secret, her brother didn't want her there. He inherited, stayed long enough to assume the title and the money and then he left. We never heard from him. And now he's dead and so is his wife."

"Wow. Like . . . they just died or was it something else?"

"His wife died soon after having a child. Sulla had a son, a boy. Sulla himself died of natural causes, it says. His heart stopped. It's a common ailment in the Prince men, though I don't have it."

"So does this mean you've inherited the estate?"

"No, because my cousin, Sulla's son, Dante, is still living and the line continues with him."

"How old is he?"

"A minor. Thirteen, they had him later in their marriage. Which is why this letter came to me. He's too young to inherit anything and needs a legal guardian. Since I'm his next-of-kin—"

"What about his mother's people, Sev?" Skull asked.

"Gone. They died in a fire when she was a young girl and she lived with an elderly aunt until she was old enough to inherit in her twenties. The aunt passed on before she married Sulla and she was the last of the Prestons. When she died she made my uncle a very rich man. And now my cousin is a ward of New York state until I assume responsibility for him."

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean, like him coming to live here?"

Severus set his jaw. "I have no choice, Harry. It's my legal and moral responsibility. He cannot be left on his own, not so long as he has family living, and I'm certainly not going to relocate to America, in spite of what Ghost says about it being wonderful."

"Maybe you could pretend _you're_ dead," Harry blurted without thinking, feeling a small irrational surge of jealousy.

"_Harry_!" Severus reprimanded. "Do not make me treat you like an eight year old. I know it's natural for you to be jealous and afraid of your cousin—"

"I'm not _afraid_ of him, Dad! I just don't like the idea of you being his guardian too." Harry said, then he could have kicked himself. Why had he said that?

Severus sighed. "Look, this will not be easy for any of us. But . . . we simply have to keep calm and carry on. Having my cousin here will not change things between us. You are my son, he is my cousin."

"And you like me better, right?"

"Harry, you know I . . . love you like my own. I don't know enough about Dante to say anything right now and prefer to reserve judgment. But one thing I _do_ know is that there will be no contest between you for my affections. You are my son and he is my cousin. There's a difference."

"You mean because you _have_ to like him because he's related to you and me you chose?" Harry clarified. He didn't mean to be a pain, but suddenly felt rather insecure.

"Yes and no. As I told you, you are my son now and I shall always love you. Never doubt that." He knelt and put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Am I understood?"

Harry looked into the obsidian eyes and nodded. He could see Severus meant what he said and inwardly he drew a sigh of relief. Whoever this Dante Prince was, at least he wouldn't take Harry's place. Then he scolded himself a bit for acting so dumb, the way Dudley had when somebody showed Harry some attention.

"I know this is difficult for you," Severus sighed. "It is for me also. I never expected to be a parent to two boys at once, or at all. I suppose I could refuse . . ." Then he shook his head. That would be wrong. As wrong as it had been for his uncle to refuse to acknowledge Severus as his nephew after Eileen died. Then again, Severus had been an adult, but if he hadn't . . . the Potions Master wondered if Sulla would have taken him in. "Never mind. I suppose we ought to book a flight to America."

"Book a flight?" Harry echoed.

"We certainly aren't going by broom," Severus answered. "And I don't have a Portkey or International Floo Network access. I also don't care for boats so flying on a plane is our only option."

"They could drop him off here," Skull suggested.

"Skullduggery, would _you_ drop off a thirteen-year-old boy alone in the Ministry of Magic to wait for some relative he doesn't even know?" demanded Severus.

"If I didn't like the damn kid, I would," answered the raven saucily.

"I need to find the number to Heathrow Airport," sighed Severus. "And if you don't behave, Skull, you'll be riding in the baggage compartment."

Skull stuck out his tongue at Snape, then crooned over to Harry, "Maybe we can stop over by Ghost while we're there and see Shriek and my eggs."

"I don't think we have time, Skull," Harry said. "Plus, it's too early for them to hatch."

"We could see," Skull argued. "On second thought, maybe I better stay here and watch over the place. You never know what could happen while you're away."

Harry said nothing. While he wanted to see the shaman and Shriek again, he wasn't sure he wanted this other kid tagging along. He hoped this Dante wouldn't be like Dudley, a spoiled brat. What if they hated each other? Then what? This was so typical of his life. Everything was going great and then—bam! Something happened to upset it.

He prayed things would go smoothly. Nothing was worse than Severus Snape in a serious snit and Harry didn't want to be the one to put him there. He quickly thought about the plane trip there. It would be his first time on an airplane anywhere, since he'd always been left with Mrs. Figg on the Dursley family vacations.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

The plane touched down at Kennedy airport with a gentle thump. Harry woke up, he'd slept most of the way and spent the rest of the time staring out the window or talking with the flight attendant.

Harry was wearing his usual Muggle attire, jeans, trainers, and a green and white striped T-shirt. He knew his hair was mussed from sleeping, but didn't want to take the time to fix it in the restroom. It wasn't as if he needed to impress anyone, and Severus was supposed to meet the WCS director here after they got off. They carried small satchels, for they weren't going to spend a long time here. The director was supposed to meet them at the airport with Dante. Severus was wearing his usual black slacks, shirt, and shoes.

After going through a long boring line at customs, Harry and Severus emerged on the other side. A rather tall man in his middle forties in a conservative gray suit and tie waved to them.

"Hello, are you Mr. Snape? I'm Gary Martin," the man said. He was blond and slender. He held out his hand for Snape to shake.

"I'm a professor, but I am Severus Snape," Severus corrected, shaking the hand offered. "This is my son, Harry."

"Pleased to meet you both." Martin shook Harry's hand as well. "If you'll follow me . . . right this way . . ." He shoved between several people carrying suitcases and duffles. "I hope you had a good flight . . ."

"Adequate," replied Severus, walking swiftly after the other wizard.

Harry was nearly trotting to keep up. He wanted to stop and look about, there were so many stands and people, it was like a small city and he wanted to soak it in, but he had to keep up with the adults. They were led past kiosks and escalators and restaurants. Harry's head spun.

Finally they were led to a door painted blue with a sign that said Management Only.

Martin pushed it open and they stepped inside.

The room was large, with a bank of windows overlooking the street and blue fluorescent couches and a gray carpet. A can of soda lay opened on the table and so did a plate with a half eaten sandwich. At the window stood a medium sized boy with shaggy hair, dark, wearing faded jeans and a white shirt that said _Def Leppard_ on the back. He wore black Converse.

Harry had never seen anyone who looked less like a rich kid. Or a wizard either.

Dante turned about and faced them. He had a face with high cheekbones and a sharp chin and hazel eyes. His hands were shoved in his pockets.

"Dante, these are your cousins, Severus and Harry," began Mr. Martin.

The boy's eyes widened. Before anyone could say anything, Dante looked them up and down and said, "Holy Merlin, are you like into the Addams family? Or going to pay respects to my father? Because you look like an undertaker."

Harry remained with his mouth slightly open. He waited for Severus to respond. If there was one thing he, and every other student at Hogwarts knew, it was to not give Severus Snape cheek. He had a feeling Dante would learn that lesson all too soon.

**A/N: So here's part two. I didn't want to split it up because I wanted to do first and second year together, unlike many fanfics. Dante Prince is my own character and you can like or dislike him as you choose. He is not there to displace Harry, but there to give him another aspect of family-an older sibling . . . sort of. And yes, you will meet Skull's offspring soon. What do you think Severus will do?**


	47. A Yankee in Yorkshire

**47**

**A Yankee in Yorkshire**

Severus' first instinct was to snap at the thirteen-year-old to mind his mouth. But as he eyed the rumpled boy keenly, he smothered that first instinct. Perhaps the boy was under stress, almost certainly he missed his late father, so maybe being a smartass was his way of dealing with it. Not that that excused his comment, but . . . perhaps he'd been trying to be funny? Severus didn't have much of a sense of humor, not after the things the Marauders had done to him, but he also didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with his cousin.

He cleared his throat, recalling vaguely that The Addams Family was an old Muggle TV show with all of the classic monsters in it, like the wolfman, Frankenstein, a vampire, and witches. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Dante, my name is Severus Snape, and I have never starred in any TV show. As for wearing black, I figured it was appropriate to do so considering the circumstances. My condolences on your loss. Did you wish to visit your father's grave before we left?"

"No. Did that already," the boy said shortly. He stuck his hands deeper into his pockets. "I guess we'd better leave."

"We have about half an hour before our next flight," Severus answered. Then he added, "We can get something to eat and stretch our legs before then. Oh, and one more thing. In the future, you may address me as sir while we are at Hogwarts or Severus at home, but never without respect. Is that clear?"

Dante looked slightly alarmed. "It was just a joke."

"He's not the sort you do that with," Harry interrupted. "I'm Harry, your cousin too." _By adoption,_ he thought, but didn't want to say that aloud yet. He went to shake Dante's hand.

"Dante. No relation to the author," Dante replied, shaking Harry's hand politely.

"I shall gather your things, Dante, while you and the Snapes have a snack," said Mr. Martin, relieved that things had gone over well.

"Sure, whatever," Dante answered, getting an uneasy feeling in his gut. So he said, "Did you know my father well, then? Because he never mentioned you at all." Not that his father would have. Sulla Prince kept secrets close to his chest and preferred to not acknowledge people he didn't like. Dante wondered if that were the case here.

"We shall be back soon." Severus told Mr. Martin. "Come, let us see what they have to eat."

"I'm starving," Harry said, following his father from the room.

"I'm not very hungry," Dante muttered and went with them.

Severus ignored that. Instead he answered the boy's previous question. "No, your father and I did not know each other well at all. He left for the States before I was born. My mother was disowned, you see, for marrying a Muggle, what you would call a Normal, and we had no contact with anyone on her side of the family until now. We are the last of the Prince line."

Dante sighed. "Great. What's the big deal about marrying a Normal? It's done here all the time."

"You don't have a Statute of Secrecy?"

"Well, sort of, but it's not forbidden or anything for a wizard to tell the person he or she marries about us. Most Normals don't even believe in magic unless you show them several times and as long as you don't act like a total nutcase, we can live right next to them and they'll never know. It's called blending. Don't you do that in Britain?"

Severus frowned at the boy's tone, which was slightly condescending. "We do things differently there. Most of our world is hidden from Muggles. Only a few us "hide in plain sight" and that because we grew up that way. Like I did and Harry."

"Oh. Seems sort of . . . backward."

"Whether it is or isn't, isn't your concern. While you live with me, you shall be expected to abide by our rules, including the Statute of Secrecy, which means no underage magic performed outside of school, unless it is in the presence of an adult wizard," Severus said in a low tone.

"What? I have to ask your permission everytime I cast something?" Dante hissed. "That's crazy! I'm not a baby."

"It is the law. And as long as you live under my roof, Mr. Prince, you will follow it."

Dante thought about saying to hell with that and bolting, but the fact was he had nowhere to go. All of his money was in the hands of this Severus Snape person until he came of age, according to his lawyers. He didn't have a dime to his name and nowhere to go now that the New York apartment and the ranch in Wyoming had been sold. "Fine!" he said shortly. _Great, another one like Dad, with a rulebook up his ass!_ He thought rebelliously, then considered that no one could beat Sulla Prince when it came to rules. His own rules, that is. Sulla didn't give a damn about anyone else's.

"Mind the tone," Severus ordered. "I do not tolerate mouthy teenagers, as my son can tell you."

Dante glanced over at Harry. The kid was small for his age, but didn't seem scared of his father. Maybe he was one of those goody-two-shoes kids who never got in trouble, Dante thought with a half-sneer. Probably the worst he'd ever gotten was a scolding. Dante bit his lip and nodded his head quickly, not saying anything. He'd learned a long time ago to be silent, because silence turned away anger. Most times.

Severus found a snack bar where they sold hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, chips, and some sandwiches. Harry got two slices of pizza and a soda, Severus a hamburger with onions and mushrooms and some chips. Dante would have refused, but the hot dog smelled so good, he ordered one and an iced tea. He figured he'd better eat now, airplane food was notorious for being terrible and he had a five hour flight or so to England.

They ate at one of the tables and then Severus took them back to the small room. Martin had gathered Dante's trunk and suitcases, including his backpack and had them piled in a corner, waiting for them to be picked up.

"I don't know what your solicitors told you, but in Britain magical children attend a school called Hogwarts until they are seventeen or eighteen. I am a professor at that school, I teach potions," Severus said calmly. "You are how old? Thirteen?"

"Just this past month," Dante answered.

"And how much magical training have you had?"

"My dad hired teachers for me when I was little. But the past three years, he trained me himself." Dante answered.

"I shall give you a test when we are home to determine your aptitude in certain subjects. Though you should start the term in September as a third year. Have you a wand?"

"A wand?" Dante repeated, puzzled. Then he recalled something one of his tutors said about wizards in Britain using wands for everything. "We only use them for focusing, or for spells that are really advanced."

"In Britain, we use them for most everything, especially when you are in school," Severus said. "I shall purchase one for you before you start school."

"But . . . I can do magic without it," Dante protested.

"But you will learn to do magic with it," Severus answered.

Dante said nothing, but scowled and threw himself into one of the lounges. What was this, the Dark Ages? Everyone knew that you only needed your will to use magic, not some outdated tool.

"So you can do magic without a wand?" Harry asked.

"Sure I can. Can't you?"

"No. Not yet. Except accidentally."

Dante turned away, looking out the window. He wasn't looking forward to this at all. It sounded so backwards, being forbidden to associate with Muggles and using wands to cast spells. What did people do over there, wear charms all the time so they weren't seen? Pretend their wand was a stick so ordinary people didn't notice? Dante had to be careful here too, but at least he could go out and mingle with other people and not worry about being thought of as some kook. He thought wistfully of the apartment they'd had here in the city. Sometimes he'd hated it, but at least he hadn't been trapped inside it day after day. Though the ranch in Wyoming had been better, because he could find places on it to be alone, to practice charms or brew and ride his horse, which he'd had to give away to a neighbor once Sulla had forced him to move to New York three years ago. Dante hadn't wanted to go then, anymore than he did now, but he had no say in the matter. One did not say no to Sulla Prince. Unless you wanted to get your ass kicked. Was it the same with his cousin Severus?

Harry sat down a little ways from the other boy and tried to make some conversation. If h was going to be spending the summer with Dante, he might as well try and get along with the other boy, though at the moment, the kid didn't strike him as very friendly. "Do you play Quidditch?"

Dante glanced at him. "No. Why?"

"You don't? Because almost everybody I know does at Hogwarts." Harry blurted.

"Well, I don't. And yeah, I know what it is. My father said it was a waste of time. He said flying was for transportation or for impressing some dumb country hicks, not for chasing a ball around."

"Oh. Do you have a broom? When we get home, we can go flying."

"Yes. Do you need to fly everywhere over there? Or can you walk? In the city you can walk all over. Or catch the subway or a bus."

"No, not everywhere. I just like flying a lot. Don't you?"

"It's okay," Dante shrugged. "A horse is better."

"You had a horse?"

"Yeah. Awhile ago."

"Do you still have it?"

"No," Dante said and turned away. The last thing he wanted was to discuss Flyaway with this kid. He didn't need any reminders of what he had lost after coming to New York.

"Did you always live here in New York?" asked Severus.

"No. I moved here three years ago. Before that I lived in Wyoming, on a ranch. That's where I had my horse. But then my father decided I'd be better off over here, so we moved." Dante said, thinking of how he had disliked it here at first. It wasn't until he'd met others like himself that he'd started to enjoy it. And now his life would change once again. _Damn you, Dad! Damn you for dying and damn everything else you did too!_

"Did you ever have a familiar?" Harry asked.

"No. I just had a horse. Do you?"

"I have Hedwig, my snowy owl. And my dad has a raven named Skullduggery."

Dante's eyes widened. "You have a raven? Ravens don't choose any but the best." He stared at Severus.

"He _is_ one of the best," Harry said loyally, before Severus could say anything. "Even Ghost said so. He was my tutor, he came from here too. From a place called Windfar, and he had a raven named Shriek, only she was white. Do you know him?"

"_Know_ him?" Dante gasped. "You had Ghost Walker for a _teacher_? That's like being taught by Merlin over here. How did you manage that? Was it expensive?"

"Uh . . ." Harry glanced at Severus.

"Ghost is a member of the Society of Ravens," Severus put in smoothly. "So he agreed to help Harry free of charge, as I am a member also."

"Hot damn!" Dante whistled. For once he was impressed.

Severus frowned. "You will refrain from using bad language in my presence, Dante. Or else you'll be scrubbing my dungeon."

Dante gaped at him. "Are you for real? I say that all the time."

"Not anymore. Unless you want to be acquainted with a scrub brush."

"Okay. Chill." Dante snorted. "Holy Merlin, it's not like I used the f-word."

"If you did, you would have a session with a bar of soap and some time scrubbing," Severus interjected firmly. He would not tolerate a child with a mouth like a sailor.

"What are you, the language police?" asked Dante insolently.

"Your new guardian. Would you like to begin washing the floor tomorrow?" Severus demanded, his eyes hard. He fixed the boy with his obsidian gaze.

Dante met his eyes for about a minute. Severus saw defiance and a bit of fear before the boy dropped his gaze. "No, sir."

"I thought not. We shall discuss other rules later on when we get home."

Dante just nodded, thinking rebelliously that it wasn't his home, just a place to stay. Until he came of age and was free to go where he liked. And say what he liked too.

He caught Harry's sudden warning look. Don't even go there, it seemed to say. Unfortunately, Dante had never been good at taking advice.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Harry and Severus slept for most of the plane ride home, despite the stiff airplane seats. Dante, in contrast, stayed awake for over half the trip. He couldn't sleep, all he could think about was how the plane was taking him further and further from his home and all that he had known. Granted, some of the stuff he knew wasn't good to know, but still it was familiar. Now he would be the proverbial stranger in a strange land, even if his ancestors had once come from here. It was not a comforting thought. The Prince name was a byword in the magical community of the States and everyone had known Dante's father. Some had loved him, some had hated him, but all had known who Sulla Prince was, and what he was capable of. There were times when Dante had hated his father's reputation, hated knowing he had to be worthy of being a Prince, but sometimes it had come in handy. He wondered if Severus knew what his father had been and done. Then again, why would he bother with Dante if that were the case?

The boy stared out the window at the low lying clouds. He wished that his father hadn't been so secretive about his relatives. But Sulla had often said that his life had begun soon after setting foot in America, and that was how he preferred it. Thus Dante knew nothing about his relatives and he wasn't sure he wanted to ask either. Asking questions brought trouble. And Dante already had enough of that.

He couldn't wait for this plane ride to be over. He felt exhausted.

Two hours later, Severus had to shake Dante awake to get off the plane. Once the boys were awake and paying attention, Severus led them to the Ministry and used their Floo Network to get home to his cottage in Yorkshire.

Severus levitated Dante's trunk and suitcases into the spare room he had set up for the boy and said, "This is where you'll be sleeping. If there is something you'd like to change about the room, let me know. Otherwise I'll leave you to get unpacked. We shall have supper in an hour or two."

Then he departed, leaving Dante alone to stare at the light blue walls and the thick dark blue carpet, with the double bed and cream colored duvet on it. There was a closet, desk, chair, and chest of drawers all done in creamy oak. Dante tossed his backpack on the bed and went to look out the window. He saw some trees and a long green strip of lawn.

It wasn't bad, though the ranch had been bigger. A bird alighted on a branch, a small brown sparrow or thrush. It reminded him of his housekeeper, an Oglala Sioux woman name Blue Sparrow. Sparrow had done more than just cook and keep house, he thought. She had been like a mother to him, or at least someone who cared enough to look after him. His father had been away on business and rarely home with his son. They had communicated mostly by letters delivered by Sulla's owl, Spartacus, a black great horned bird.

Dante scowled. Spartacus had never really liked him, the bird was ornery and had bitten him as a child for trying to pet him after a delivery. But Sparrow had hugged him and put medicine on the cut and since then Dante and Spartacus disliked each other. When he had written his father about the bite, all his father had said was _leave the bird be, Dante. It's not a pet and you ought to know better._ Spartacus had been sold along with a lot of other things from his father's estate, not that Dante would have kept the nasty thing anyway. Let someone else deal with him.

But now, gazing out on an unfamiliar landscape, Dante would have taken the curmudgeon bird over staying here. If he'd had the money, he would have disappeared into the alleys of New York after hopping a plane back there. How ironic, he thought, he was the son of a rich man and yet he didn't have a dollar or a Galleon to his name.

He threw himself on the bed and sought solace in sleep. Screw unpacking. He could do that later.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry knocked tentatively on the door to Dante's room. "Dante? It's Harry. My dad says it's time for supper. Hey, are you awake?" He turned the knob and went in when there was no response.

He saw the older boy sprawled across his bed, asleep. In sleep, Dante looked more vulnerable than he had when Harry had first seen him, sullen and sarcastic. Harry wondered if that were a front for Dante's true feelings. Was he scared or just mad about coming to live here? Harry knew he'd probably be both if it were him. He just hoped Dante tempered his attitude around Severus, for the last thing anyone needed this summer was a ticked off Severus.

Suddenly, Skullduggery flew into the room and landed on the bed beside Dante. "Rise and shine, little cowboy! Up an' at 'em!" Skull warbled, sounding like a bad cowboy from a B-rated movie.

Dante bolted upright, his hand sparking with greenish flames. "What in hell!" he cried, and then he saw the raven. Slowly he exhaled and lowered his hand, the green fire dying. "Bird, you nearly ended up fried chicken. Don't ever wake me like that again. And don't call me cowboy."

"What was that spell?" Harry asked. "If you'd hurt Skull, my father would kill you."

Dante sat up. "It's a defense spell to send any annoying little creatures away from me. And I'd never hurt a raven, they're sacred. Sparrow taught me that when I was a little kid. Do you think I'm stupid?" He tossed his hair out of his eyes.

"No, sorry we scared you. Who's Sparrow?"

"Blue Sparrow is—was—my cook and housekeeper growing up. But she returned to her own people when my father sold the ranch."

"Her people? Was she an Indian, like Ghost?"

"Oglala Sioux. Her white name was Marian. But she preferred Blue Sparrow." Dante yawned. He looked at Skull. "So you're Skullduggery, huh? Would you mind if I petted you? Or are you going to chomp my finger off?"

"Not unless you annoy me . . . cowboy," Skull replied impudently, and remained still when Dante's fingers stroked his chest.

"Don't call me that," Dante said automatically. "I was never a cowboy, even if I rode a Quarter horse. There were no cows on The Golden Prince. My father didn't like them. He said they were useless animals." Sulla had said a lot more than that, both about cattle and those who made their living from them. He had forbidden Dante to ever learn about being a cowboy, said it was a job for yokels and not for heirs to a great house and empire.

"Your father sounds like a stuck up ass," Skull remarked with his usual disdain for personal feelings.

"Skull!" Harry reproved. He looked guiltily at Dante. "Sorry, sometimes he just . . . says things."

"I've heard worse," Dante said. "Besides, he's right. My father was an arrogant ass. Sometimes." He swung his legs over the bed. "What's this school of yours like anyhow? What's it called again?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, if you want to be proper."

"Hogwarts? What a funny name."

"It got its name from a flower that grew all over there in the beginning," Skull put in.

"I never knew that," Harry said, shocked.

"Well, you never read Hogwarts a History either," the raven said smugly. "Tell Dante about the house system, Harry."

"House system?"

"There are four Houses that you can be Sorted into—Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff," Harry named them. "Each of the houses has their own sigil and crest and qualities. Like, my House, Gryffindor, has red and gold colors and a lion banner and we're known for bravery, for the most part. My dad's House is Slytherin, whose colors are silver and green and they have a snake banner and they're known for their ambition and cunning. My dad is Head of that House, that's a teacher who runs the House, he's sort of like a fill in parent . . ."

Harry went on to explain the other two Houses and then paused.

"How do you get into these Houses? Does someone pick you or do you have to pass a test or what?"

"No, you get Sorted."

"Sorted?"

"By the Sorting Hat. It's a magical hat that can talk and read your mind, well, sort of, and it tells you what House best suits you when you first come to school. Your House is sort of like a family, and you work with other members to gain points and win the House Cup—"

"Hold it! You mean some old _hat_ is going to tell me where I belong?" Dante cried incredulously. "How long's that been going on?"

"Since the Founding. Centuries," answered Harry.

Dante crossed his arms. "Well, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Harry! We have stuff like fraternities and clubs, but no hat's gonna tell me what to do or where to go."

"But . . . but Dante . . . you _have_ to be Sorted. Everyone at Hogwarts is."

"So? I don't like it. I hate being put in a box and told this is how you're going to be. I'm an American, we don't label people that way." Dante said angrily. Well, unless you were a member of a powerful organization, like the Hellfire Club or the White Knights. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let a hat tell me what to do."

"You don't understand. It's tradition . . ."

"And maybe it's time someone broke it," Dante snorted. "No hat controls my destiny. You should decide for yourself where you belong."

"You won't have a choice," Harry tried again. "The Sorting's not so bad, you'll see."

"Uh huh. And you'll see too. Me walking away. I told you, nobody forces me into a box." Dante's mouth firmed into a stubborn line. "If they want me to join one of those Houses, they'll let me choose. End of story." He hopped off the bed. "Coming? Or aren't you hungry?"

"I could eat a cow!" Skull squawked, and fluttered from the room.

Harry chuckled at the raven's wit, then sobered. If Severus ever knew about Dante's attitude . . . there would be trouble. He couldn't understand why something like the Sorting bothered the older boy so much. Unless Dante was just a contrary cuss after all. Maybe he could convince Dante to change his mind. Because not even cousins of professors were exempt from the Sorting Hat.

Harry hurried down the hall to the kitchen, licking his lips. Tonight Severus had made shepherd's pie, a favorite of Harry's, and he couldn't wait to taste it. He'd worry about Dante later.


	48. Meeting in Diagon Alley

**48**

**Meeting in Diagon Alley**

Having Dante move in with them brought a whole new definition to the term "moody adolescent", Severus thought with a sigh some four weeks later. It wasn't that he expected the boy to be perfect, but to at least try and fit in with his new lifestyle here. He knew that his small house in Yorkshire probably wasn't what Dante had been used to, living as he had in a posh flat in New York City on Battery Park. But it was not a slum either and the boy ought to have been grateful to have someone willing to take him in at all. But Dante seemed content to be sullen and brooding, going off by himself and spending most of his days alone. The only one he really communicated with was Skull, the rest of the time he spoke in monosyllables, or only when spoken to directly.

Severus had found that the boy actually had other clothes than the ratty jeans and T-shirt he'd been wearing, good ones too, but oddly enough, Dante seemed to prefer the holey jeans and rock concert T-Shirts. Severus wondered if it was a trend in America for teens to dress that way. All he knew was that he would have killed for good clothing like Dante had growing up in Spinner's End. Harry wore jeans and T-shirts too, but they were at least nice ones, without holes or stains. Severus made sure of that.

_Perhaps I'm being too hard on the boy, _he mused as he stirred a cauldronful of Pepperup Potion for the Hospital Wing for Poppy next term. He always brewed some drafts for her to use in the infirmary. _It's only been a month, he probably needs more time to settle in. Perhaps he has friends he misses from America. _Although Dante hadn't volunteered any information about his past, not even speaking of his father much. Since Severus hadn't really known Sulla, he hadn't felt comfortable bringing the man up either.

As he stirred, the Potions Master thought about next term, and hoped it would be better than last year. _Hell, Severus, after what went on then, anything would be better. _Thinking about school reminded him that he had yet to take Harry and Dante to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies and robes. Maybe what Dante needed was more of an introduction to wizarding Britain. Maybe it would help him feel like he belonged if he had a wand and books like every other Hogwarts student.

_And maybe you need to spend more time with both of them, _his conscience reproved. It was true these past weeks he had been brewing and creating new curriculums for class, and so hadn't really spent much time with Harry or Dante, except at breakfast to go over chores and a few other things. Harry hadn't seemed to mind, according to Skull he kept busy finishing his school assignments and then flying and writing his friends, or reading in the library. Dante kept busy going for walks and brooding, as far as Severus was aware. _Maybe today would be a good time to visit Diagon Alley. You need to get some more ingredients for a few drafts, and it won't be as busy now, during the middle of the summer, as it will towards the end of August. _Yes, perhaps today was a good day to go and get all the school shopping done and over with.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Harry had woken up early that day, showered, and had made himself a bacon and egg sandwich before taking his Nimbus and going flying with Notice-Me-Not charms. He would have asked Dante to come along, but the boy had been sleeping in, as usual, at nine in the morning. Harry wondered when Dante went to bed, as the older boy always seemed to be wide awake at eleven o'clock, which was when Harry went to sleep. Not that it really mattered, but Harry was surprised Severus permitted Dante to stay up till all hours . . . unless he didn't know what went on in the wee hours of the morning. Harry wasn't sure what to make of his second cousin. Dante wasn't cruel like Dudley had been, he didn't tease or push Harry, but he wasn't great company either. Dante had rejected all of Harry's attempts to be friendly, seemingly preferring to be left alone. He reminded Harry of a brooding dragon or an ill-tempered dog. So Harry had learned to just ignore the uncommunicative boy and do whatever he pleased, which lately had been flying and reading up on some new spells in Severus' library. Harry had noted Dante seemed to like the library too, as he'd caught the older boy in there a time or two, but Dante never said what he was studying in there, and the few times Harry had tried to get him to talk, the other boy had gotten tight-lipped and walked off.

It was too bad Dante wasn't more like Ghost, Harry mused as he pulled out a clean sheet of paper and began to write letters to Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Draco. Harry had lots of questions about wizards in America, but Dante wasn't friendly, like Ghost, and so he figured his questions would never get answered. Unless he wrote Ghost. Maybe he should write the shaman, and ask about Shriek and the eggs, though he was sure Ghost would write or Floo call them in the event that the eggs hatched.

_Dear Draco,_

_How is your summer going so far? Mine is pretty good, though I don't know if I told you that I have my cousin Dante Prince living with me now. He's from America, his father was Sulla Prince, the last of his line, and Dad is his guardian now until he comes of age. He's thirteen and kind of quiet and moody. I think he'll be a third year when we go back to school, but haven't figured out where the Hat will Sort him yet._

_He's rather snippy and doesn't like the whole Sorting business, said he's not going to be shut in a box or something like that, and they don't do things that way in America. Well, he's not in New York now and he's just going to have to get used to the way we do things over here. Maybe he's having trouble fitting in here because we're not filthy rich like his dad used to be. I don't know. _

_Do you know anything about Sulla Prince and his family? Dante won't say a thing, and I was wondering what sort of history they have._

_Write back soon,_

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

Harry sealed the letter in an envelope and summoned Hedwig to deliver it. Then he started writing more letters. He hoped his friends were enjoying their summers.

After he had written to Ron and the rest of them, he set aside his quill and looked out the window. It was still sunny, and not raining for once, as it had done for most of the time last week. Harry wondered what he should do now, he was kind of bored, when he heard Severus calling him.

Harry met the Potions Master in the kitchen. "What's up, Dad? Is it lunchtime already?"

Severus shook his head. "No. Are you always hungry now?" he asked, deadpan.

"Only sometimes," Harry said, somewhat defensively.

"Perhaps you're getting a growth spurt," Severus mused. "It's about time for one. The reason I called you here is because I thought we could go to Diagon Alley today for your school supplies and Dante's. I need a few things from the apothecary and I don't like waiting till the last minute to pick up everything. Too many crowds."

"Can we stop in Fortescue's for ice cream?" Harry begged shamelessly.

"We'll see. Where's your cousin?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. He was sleeping when I got up."

Severus frowned. "That boy would sleep his life away if I let him. Skull, would you find Dante for me and tell him about the trip to Diagon Alley?"

The raven flew up from his perch on a chair back. "Right away, Sev! This should be interesting!"

_Interesting is one word for it, _Harry thought. He wished now he had thought to tell Draco or another of his friends about this trip, so they could arrange to meet somewhere. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad going alone with Severus and Dante.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Severus took the boys into Slug and Jigger's Apothecary first, where he purchased the ingredients he needed for some Decongestion Drafts as well as the potion kits and ingredients they would need for next term's potions class. He got extra ingredients so that if a draft went awry, the boys could compensate for it. Amos Jigger, an old friend of his, generously gave him a discount on all his supplies.

Harry watched idly as Dante appeared to study some preserved newts in jars. "What are those used for?" he asked softly.

Dante, who was wearing worn black jeans and a T-shirt that said _Dragons Don't Make Deals, They Just Make You Into Dinner_, shrugged and said, "Some wizards used them for some kind of endurance potions back home. Least that's how my dad explained it to me."

"Oh. Was your dad a good potion maker?"

Dante stared at the glass jars. "For some things. But he wasn't an expert, like Severus." Though Sulla had been an expert in . . . other areas of magic, Dante thought, biting back a shudder. "How many more shops do we have to go in?"

"Uh . . . well, we need to stop at Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore, to get our texts, and Ollivanders, to get you a wand, and maybe then we'll be able to get some lunch and ice cream too."

"Good, because I'm starving."

"Didn't you eat breakfast?"

Dante shook his head. "Woke up too late. Besides, I usually skip it." Which had been true lately, though he had never done so when he'd lived on the ranch. Blue Sparrow wouldn't have stood for it. But everything had been different since going to live in New York. And even more so over here. He rubbed his stomach and said, glancing at Harry, "How long can rpicking out a wand take?"

"Uh . . . depends. The wand chooses the wizard, you see. So it could take a few minutes or maybe even an hour," Harry told him.

"Huh? What do you mean, the wand chooses? It's just a stick, right? How can it choose anything?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's more than that. A wand bonds to a wizard, and no two are alike." He began to explain what little he knew about wands while Severus was being rung up at the front of the store. He showed Dante his own holly wand again, and this time the boy actually seemed interested.

"So, my wand can only be used by me?"

"That is usually correct," Severus interjected, coming up and overhearing what they were discussing. "Occasionally, another wizard may borrow your wand, but mostly the wand is attuned to you and you alone. A borrowed wand is never as good as one that picks you."

"What if it breaks?"

"Then you would have to buy a new one, but usually that does not happen. We take extra special care of our wands here, Dante. Now come, I believe Ollivander's is open."

Dante said nothing, though he thought that if the wand broke, he'd just use his hands and a few spell components, like he'd done at home rather than waste money on another wand.

The boys trailed him out of the apothecary, eager to get to the wand seller.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Harry shifted from foot to foot as he waited in the back of the small wandshop as Ollivander, Severus, and Dante attempted to find Dante a wand. So far all of Ollivander's choices were duds. Either the wand didn't spark, or barely sparked at all. Harry was getting impatient. But things showed no improvement.

"Here. Try this one. Seven and a half, hawthorne with a phoenix core," Ollivander urged, handing Dante a pale cream colored wand.

As Dante took the wand, scowling, Harry nudged Severus and said, "Dad, can I go over to the bookstore and get most of my books? I have the list right here, and it'll save time if I go now."

"I'll go with you, _bran_-boy," said Skull. "There's too much magic flying about here. That last spark nearly singed my tailfeathers off." The raven perched on Harry's shoulder.

Severus glanced over at Dante, who was shaking his head, and said, "This is taking longer than I expected. Very well. But make sure you stick to the list, they should have everything you need displayed on the front tables. I shall be along as soon as Dante finds a wand."

"Which could take all day," Harry quipped. "Maybe because he's from America, no wand wants him."

"No, I am sure there is one suitable. It doesn't matter where you're from, Harry. A wizard—any wizard—can use a wand. Go, we shall meet you there, and if you don't see us as you pay, just tell the cashier to put the books' cost on my account. And then wait for us outside."

"All right, Dad. See you later." Then Harry scurried out of the wandshop and down the street to the huge bookstore.

Behind him he heard Dante grumble, "This is ridiculous! Why can't I just pick one and be done with it?"

"Because that's not how it works," Severus admonished. "Don't be in such a hurry. Sometimes, the stronger a wizard's magic, the harder time the wand has of choosing."

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

A long line wended its way in front of Flourish and Blotts as Harry and Skull came up the street. Harry was glad to be out in the sunlight and fresh air, he'd been getting a little claustrophobic inside Ollivander's. He slowed as he saw the crowd, mostly of middle-aged witches and their children, and hissed, "What's going on? They having a sale?"

Skull flapped and soared into the air. "I think it may have to do with that big sign hanging there in the front."

Harry squinted, but he couldn't make out all the words because of the crowd and he was pretty nearsighted to begin with. "What's it say, Skull?"

"Let me have a look-see," the raven trilled, then flew over by the large banner.

Soon Skull returned, landing lightly on Harry's shoulder. "It's an advertisement for an early book signing today. Bloke named Gilderoy Lockhart is signing advance copies of his new book, _Magical Me._ It's a publicity stunt. There're reporters from the Prophet here, probably."

"Gilderoy Lockhart? Now why's that name sound familiar?" Harry wondered. He fumbled in his pocket for the crumpled up list with his schoolbooks on it. "Oh! I know why—he's written half the books on here for Defense." He stared at the list in dismay. "Merlin's hat, we're supposed to read _all_ of them? For one class? There's like eight here, and even though I like to read, this seems like a bit much."

The raven peered over Harry's shoulder. "Hmm. Seems a bit full of himself, this Lockhart fellow, eh?"

"Who is he? Do you know?"

"Supposedly he wrote all these books about various creatures he encountered and defeated," Skull snorted. "If the books are anything to go by, he's the best combat wizard since Merlin. Better than Ghost."

Harry shook his head. "No way. Nobody's as good as Ghost. Or Dad. This has to be a mistake."

"Or another publicity thing. Sometimes these authors exaggerate," Skull said. "Well, better get on line before it gets any longer. And hope we're inside by the time Sev and Dante come out of the wandshop."

Harry looked at the line. It seemed to grow longer by the minute. He joined the queue, listening to a lot of witches babbling about how excited they were to see the "real" Lockhart, shake his hand, and even take a picture with him if time allowed. Apparently, his new book was all the rage. "Ugh! All these people to see one wizard? What's he look like, the best thing since ice cream?"

Skull fluffed his feathers. "Humans are strange sometimes. They think appearances are everything. But sometimes what's outside is not always true on the inside."

"How true, friend raven," said a small squeaky voice near Harry's midsection. "How true indeed. Dobby agrees with the raven one hundred percent."

"What?" Harry glanced down to see a creature about four feet tall with huge pointed ears, huge eyes that dominated a wrinkled face, wearing a tea towel and no shoes. To be fair, his feet looked too large to fit in them, as did his hands, which looked bigger than his skinny arms. "Who—what are you?" The creature looked vaguely familiar.

"Dobby is my name," said the creature, bowing.

"He's a house elf, Harry. Like Prissy," Skullduggery informed him. "Why are you here? Has your master sent you?"

The strange elf shook his head. "No, Dobby is here to warn Harry Potter."

"Warn me of what? The long line I'm on? Getting trampled by crazy Lockhart fans?" Harry inquired saucily.

"No! Dobby wishes to tell Harry Potter that something dangerous is coming."

"Something dangerous?" Skull squawked. "Such as?"

"Dobby cannot say, but knows something wicked this way comes." The elf hissed, wringing his hands.

"Quit talking in circles!" Skull snapped. "If you know what's coming, say so. Or has your master forbid you to speak of it?"

"No, Master has no idea Dobby is here. Dobby had to come, warn Harry Potter of danger."

"What danger?" Harry put a hand on his wand and looked up and down the street, but saw nothing.

"Dobby had dream . . . something bad is coming. Had to warn Harry Potter. Sometimes dreams come true. Beware!"

"You had a dream and now you want to warn me about it?" Harry stared at him.

"Are you a Dreamer? Prescient?" asked Skull rapidly, glaring hard at the elf.

"No . . . but the talent runs in Dobby's family."

Suddenly, the crowd surged forward, and Harry was almost knocked into the person before him. He managed to keep his feet, and Dobby suddenly was on one side of him. "Look, thanks for the . . . uh . . . heads up, but maybe you just had a scary dream. Can you tell me about it?"

"Dobby only has feelings. Does not see what happens next."

"Well, a fat lot of good that does!" Skull snapped. "What good's a warning without details?"

"Dobby is sorry. Harry Potter must beware. That is all Dobby knows." Suddenly a shudder shook the elf's small body. "Dobby must go. Master is calling."

The elf vanished with a sharp pop.

"Hey! You didn't even tell us what family you were affiliated with!" Skull cried indignantly. "Silly elf!"

Harry stroked the raven. "Now what? Should we take that warning seriously?"

"I don't know, _bran-_boy. The elf was kind of vague. And usually, house elves don't have dreams. Strange."

"Should I tell Dad? Or Prissy? Maybe she knows who he is."

"She might. Most elves know each other, or the family they're bound to. And I suppose you can tell Sev about this, though what he'll make of it I have no idea. Warning of a great danger! Ha! Any two bit street performer can tell your fortune like that."

"I'll wait till I get my books, then tell Dad when we get home." Harry decided. He didn't want Severus to take him home early, he wanted some ice cream and a burger.

After ten more minutes, they were inside the bookstore, where the line snaked all the way to the back, where Gildroy Lockhart was sitting at a table piled high with books and smiling photographs of himself, signing away with a beautiful peacock quill. The famous wizard wore beautiful sky-blue robes that matched his eyes, and a small hat as well perched at a jaunty angle atop his blond locks, which were attractively styled.

Flash bulbs from reporters were going off at least every seven seconds, and Gilderoy looked to have a permanent smile stamped on his face. Harry wondered if the man's teeth hurt from grinning so much. Gilderoy was good looking, all right, but Harry didn't think he was "divine", "ravishing" or "totally hot" the way the witches in front of him were drooling.

"Handsome is as handsome does," Skull sneered. Clearly he wasn't anymore impressed by Lockhart than Harry was.

Harry snagged a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Level Two,_ along with his potions book and a few others he saw while he waited to get copies of his Defense texts. He couldn't believe the fuss being made over this Lockhart guy.

"He reminds me of a snake oil salesman," Skull hissed in his ear. "Sleek, slick, and fake."

Before Harry could say anything, he was fourth in line at the table, Lockhart looked up . . . and spotted Harry. "Why, blessed Merlin!" Lockhart gasped. "It _can't_ be! The famous Harry Potter!"

Harry started to back away, but he found his arm seized in rather strong grip as Lockhart dragged him to the front of the line. "Hey! Let go!"

"Now, now. Relax, Harry!" Gilderoy soothed, grinning like mad. "It's time for a publicity shot. You and me—famous boy wizard and magical me, together on the front page! Whoo-hoo! They'll eat it up!"

Before Harry could try and get away, he found himself clasped against Lockhart's side while reporters snapped their picture over and over.

Skull flew into the air, hissing furiously. "Release him, you overgrown peacock! Doesn't your mirror give you a good enough reflection, you conceited ball of hot air?"

But Gilderoy was oblivious to all but his adoring crowd of fans.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Look whose come for a copy of my book! It's Harry Potter, the famous Boy Who Lived! How marvelous! Of course, he hasn't lived nearly the life I have, but that's all right. You can read all about it in _Magical Me!_ As well as my other signed works. Harry, it must have been a dull summer until you came here for the signing. I have a copy for you right here—along with my other works—_free_ of charge! We celebrities have to stick together, eh?"

Harry wanted to sink through the floor. Now everyone was staring at him and waving. He wished he had remained with Severus and Dante at Ollivander's. He hated being the center of attention, especially like this. "Uh . . err. . . thanks, Mr. Lockhart, but I really have to be going . . ."

"Gilderoy, my dear boy! No formality between friends, eh?" Gilderoy beamed, poking him in the arm. "And now, I have an announcement to make. Harry didn't realize this but . . . he'll be getting to see me all the time now. Why? Because Albus Dumbledore recently hired me on as the new Defense professor at Hogwarts! That's right . . . because of my sterling reputation fighting baddies, Dumbledore thought I'd be ideal for the position!"

There came loud cheers from the crowd.

Harry nearly went deaf. He tried to squirm out of Lockhart's arm, but the man had a death grip on him and the surge of crazed fans pressed on him. "Skull! Help!"

"Hang on, kid!" the raven cawed. "Let me go get Sev. Be right back!" He flew off across the store.

Harry hoped he would hurry.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Severus and Dante were walking up the street, Dante wearing his new wand, a hawthorne spiral with a dragon heartstring core. Ollivander said that combination was quite powerful, "A strong wizard," he'd said to Severus. "But difficult to say where his heart lies."

"I doubt if he knows that himself yet," the Potions Master had told the wandmaker as Dante tested out the wand. "We'll take it."

Now, five minutes later, the two were heading towards the bookshop, and Severus eyed the crowds warily. They had spent almost two hours here already and he was hoping that people would start heading home for lunch, but it seemed as though there was some kind of throng up ahead, right where Flourish and Blotts needed to be . . . "What in Merlin's name?" Severus muttered, slowing.

"You having a fire sale?" Dante asked, eyeing the crowd. "Or did Merlin himself drop down for some tea?"

Before Severus could say anything more, Skullduggery appeared, flapping hard. "Sev! You have to get in there! That pretender Lockhart, or whatever his name is, has Harry trapped by the press, and is taking publicity shots . . ."

Severus nearly groaned aloud. "Merlin's bloody . . ." he throttled off the rest of what he was about to say, remembering that Dante was listening. "Dante, stay here. I'll be right back, as soon as I help Harry. Gilderoy Lockhart!" he spat. "That interfering puffed up little pissant!" He whirled and snapped at Dante, "Just _stay_ there!"

"Okay," the thirteen-year-old said, rolling his eyes. "Jeez Louise, what does he think I'm going to do, get kidnapped or something?"

He watched as Severus, black cloak billowing, shoved through the crowd and into the bookstore, following the raven. Then he leaned up against the side of the building, idly twirling the end of his new wand. At first he'd been disgusted with how long it had taken the damn wand to find him, but once he held it in his hand . . . even he had to admit it was pretty cool to feel the surge of magic going up his arm. And there had been this weird connection . . . Dante didn't know how to describe it, but it felt . . . right.

_The wand chooses the wizard. Maybe Severus wasn't just reciting a load of crap, like my dad used to whenever he wanted me to do something for him . . ._

Dante brushed his hair out of his eyes and hoped that Severus would rescue Harry soon, because he was hungry as a starved bear and he thought they'd passed a café on the other side of the street . . .

The next thing he knew, a large hand had clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" he cried, whirling around.

The hand was attached to a beefy looking guy in gray robes with a military style haircut.

"Shut up, boy. Been looking for you."

"There must be a mistake. I don't even know you—" Dante tried to get away, but he was held fast.

"You're Dante Prince, right?"

"Yes, but . . . damn it, let _go_!" he tried to reach his wand, but the big man held him too tightly for him to reach it.

"Good. Then we want to talk to you."

"Like hell."

"Relax, kid. Me and a few friends knew your dad, Sulla, once upon a time."

"What's that to do with me?"

"Come along, boy. You'll see."

Before Dante could even call out for help, he was picked up and dragged into an alley. An instant later there was a flash and they appeared on a different street, but Dante was too afraid and furious to notice the sign—_Knockturn Alley—_before the big man opened a door and they went inside.

**A/N: Okay, here's a new chappie for you! Hope you like it, I've been writing in a new fandom-Once Upon A Time-so if you want to read my new story The Gold Standard and review it, please do so, it'd be greatly appreciated! As well as R & R ing this one, of course!**


	49. Smiles and Secrets

**49**

**Smiles and Secrets**

Severus Snape strode through the crowd of witches and wizards at Flourish and Blotts, and those who caught a glimpse of him—billowing black robes, scowl, and eyes that radiated a fierce need to hex something, along with a raven fluttering above like a harbinger of doom—were quick to vanish from his path. Most knew him and his famous temper, or _of_ him, and it was a toss up who was more frightened. Either way, in ten seconds tops, the crowd had parted faster than the Red Sea when Moses had commanded it.

No one was foolish enough to get in the way of the Potions Master in a temper . . . except the oblivious Gilderoy Lockhart standing in front of the table with his smiling façade all over it, still beaming his thousand Galleon smile and gripping Harry for all he was worth and waving at the cameras, which had stopped taking pictures because a certain raven had flown down and shat on the lenses.

Harry, who detested celebrity mug shots, nearly cried in relief to see Skull and Severus coming. He half-sagged against Gilderoy's shoulder and said, "Look, I have to go now, Mr. Lockhart . . ."

"Oh, don't be so formal, Harry! I feel like we're best friends already!" Gilderoy beamed. "Now, smile for the camera!"

Harry was horrified. He'd sooner be best friends with a chimera! And he hated the fake smile—charming though it was, that Gilderoy seemed able to produce at will for any reporter looking to make a name for himself. He tried to tug free of the other's restraining hand just as Severus, looking like Death come to claim his own, arrived.

_Help me, _he sent silently to his adopted father.

Severus did not disappoint him. "Release him, Lockhart! Before you find your fingers on the floor next to your autobiography."

Lockhart blinked stupidly. Then he saw Severus' wand, drawn and pointed unerringly at him. "But . . . but . . . we were only doing a publicity shoot! Surely you understand the importance of such things, Severus—may I call you that?" Again the man flashed that winning smile, the one that had been awarded Nicest Smile Award from Witch Weekly several years in a row.

"No, you may not," Severus snapped, longing to put his fist through those perfect teeth. "Harry is my son and therefore my responsibility. He is not allowed to do any publicity shots without my express permission. Now let him be, Lockhart, before I demonstrate the true worth of your defense capabilities and make the Headmaster seek a new teacher for this term."

Several witches gasped and glared at Snape for his threat, and Lockhart gulped and released Harry, who ran and half-hid behind Severus' sheltering robes.

"Now, now, Professor, there's no need to make threats. We wouldn't like anyone to get hurt, now would we?"

Severus scowled. "Like you?' he hissed, but no one heard except Harry and Lockhart. "Don't test me, Lockhart. You'll lose."

"Oh! You—ah—really wouldn't want to duel me, Professor Snape!" Lockhart stammered. "It would be—"

"—a pity if someone got hurt," finished Severus silkily, and there was no doubt in his voice which of the two would be lying on the floor if _that_ happened. He placed an arm comfortingly about Harry's shoulders and whispered, "Are you all right? Skull fetched me as soon as he could."

"I'm fine, Dad," Harry whispered back. "Just a bit . . . shook up. I don't like being the center of attention. You know that."

"Yes, I know." He fixed Lockhart with a glare he reserved for especially dense people, enemies, and the idiots from _The Daily Prophet_. "You've had your fifteen minutes of fame, Lockhart. If you ever lay a hand on my son again, you're going to be a cripple with a room reserved for you in St. Mungos—if they can reassemble all the pieces, that is. Am I understood? Harry is not some prop for you to exploit in your quest to become the next bestseller at Flourish and Blotts."

Lockhart gulped audibly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down spastically. "Y-yes, I . . . I understand, old fellow. But I didn't do the boy any harm, I just wanted a few photos together—you know, two celebrities posing for a few quick candids for the Prophet—"

"Did you even _ask_ Harry first, or did you just assume and shove him in front of the first reporter who happened by?" sneered Severus, his voice as biting as the North Wind and twice as frigid.

"He yanked poor Harry up here quicker than you can say Quidditch, Sev," Skullduggery reported, landing upon the professor's opposite shoulder. "I nearly had a conniption." He clicked his tongue at Lockhart and squawked, "Next time, pretty boy, don't touch what don't belong to you, or I'll breaka you face! Capish?"

Lockhart looked so shocked that Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he passed out. This was probably the first time people hadn't gone all gaga over him and his handsome self since leaving Hogwarts. Harry fought to keep a straight face, but it was hard, especially after Skull's Mafia impression. Suddenly, Harry remembered Dante and looked around for him.

He didn't see the boy anywhere and was about to ask Severus where he was when Lockhart said, "It was an honest misunderstanding, Professor Snape. No hard feelings now, eh, Harry?"

"Umm . . . not really," Harry managed to say before Skull stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at the blond man.

"I say! Is he always that . . . umm . . . obnoxious?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "If you are referring to my familiar, you may ask him directly. Skullduggery?"

"Are you always such a dandy, Lockhart?" Skull queried mischievously. "I've seen billionaires with less flash, old boy. You might want to tone it down, one day you could be mistaken for a fancy rubbish bin with all those doodads. Is that your _real_ hair color, old boy, or did you get it out of a bottle? Sort of reminds me of the time my cousin Hugin got into a bucket of Goldrush paint way back when they were sprucing up the Ministry building . . ."

Lockhart put a hand to his hair and sputtered, "I . . . I was born with it . . . You really ought to teach your familiar some manners, sir!"

Severus shrugged. "Manners are something ravens make up on their own, Lockhart. Or don't you know that from all of your . . . travels around the world?"

"Yes . . . yes, of course! I am intimately familiar with the habits of manitcores, lamias, banshees, and all manner of magical creatures as you'd know if you've read my books—" he gestured to the pile of books surrounding him, most of them with a picture of his face smack dab in the center of the cover.

"No, I've been reading more important things, Lockhart," Severus dismissed the other wizard with a wave. "I don't have time to waste reading fiction when I need to brew drafts for next term."

"_Fiction! **Fiction!**_ I'll have you know, professor, that every word is one hundred percent true! _Every_ word, I swear it upon my—my mother's grave!"

"Your mother passed away? I wasn't aware, Lockhart," Severus interrupted smoothly. "My condolences. Now, if you'll excuse me, your adoring public is waiting and we must be going." He firmly ushered Harry towards the registers. "Come, Harry. Let's pay and get some lunch before you expire."

Harry allowed himself to be guided through the crowd and joined the queue at the cashier desk. "Did his mother really die?"

"I doubt it. Last I knew she was alive and well in Cornwall and lamenting her poor excuse for a son," Severus snorted. "He can lie through his perfect smile when he wishes, Harry. Remember that. Now, let's pay and then meet up with your cousin, whom I left outside to wait for us."

It took about ten minutes for Harry to purchase all his books and then they were headed out the door. His stomach was rumbling and he hoped their next stop would be lunch.

Severus halted at the edge of the building and glanced around. "Dante? Dante, where are you?"

"Was this where you left him?" Harry asked as Severus glanced around.

The boy was nowhere in sight.

"Skullduggery, see if you can find—" Severus began when he caught sight of a familiar figure walking up the street. "Never mind. There he is!" He waited, hands on his hips, for Dante to come up to them before he scolded, "Next time, tell someone where you're going, young man."

Dante glanced up at him and swiftly looked away. "Chill, Severus. I was just using the bathroom. When you gotta go, you gotta go."

Severus sighed impatiently. "Very well. Let's go get some lunch, now that I've rescued Harry from that utter idiot, Gilderoy Lockhart."

"What happened in there?" Dante asked, swiftly directing attention away from himself. He fought to keep from shivering and blurting out the truth of what had gone on while Severus was inside the bookstore. He knew better than to even hint that he had been dragged off by the UK's version of Necromancers Anonymous. You didn't fool around with those people. Not if you wanted to keep breathing. And they had made it very clear that Sulla had owed them for something and now Dante was responsible for it. Whatever "it" was. Dante was unsure, but knew it must have cost them a great deal for them to want him to pick up his father's tab now that he was dead.

He listened with half an ear as Harry began to explain about Lockhart, his mind replaying the darkened room and the figures in gray robes and masks, and the one hard voice saying, _A debt is a debt, Dante Prince. I'm sure your father taught you about that. Now we're calling in our marker. And you're the one we're collecting from, as Sulla's heir. Do what we want, and all debts are cancelled. Don't and you'll find yourself dancing on air from a short rope, or squirming while fire melts the flesh from your bones. Tell anyone about what we just discussed and you'll learn a new meaning of pain and suffering . . . and so will your cousins Snape and Potter, or whatever he calls himself now._

That had sealed his lips, and whatever hope he had of getting away from Sulla's twisted bargain. Dante had known his father dealt with some pretty shady characters, you didn't get to the top like he had without making a few deals with the devil, but he had thought now that Sulla was keeping company with Lucifer in hell, those old "business" associates would fade back into the shadows and leave him be. After all, he hadn't helped his father do anything, Sulla hadn't even talked to him about half of what he did. Dante didn't even know he'd had relatives in Britain until the lawyer had told him so the day after the funeral.

And now here was Sulla's past coming back to haunt him.

Dante silently cursed his father to the depths of perdition and nodded his head as Harry told him about his ordeal in the bookstore. All he wanted was to go home (even though the cottage was hardly home to him) and bury his head in the pillow and sleep for the next year. He was not used to feeling terrified and helpless now that Sulla was gone, and he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that these people meant him harm, despite their assurances that they wouldn't hurt him if he did as they asked. Dante knew how that went. One favor became two, then three, then four, until before you knew it you were handing over your first born for a ritual sacrifice. And he was caught like a spider in a web, tangled and trapped, with no hope of breaking free.

"We'll go back after we eat and get your books, Dante," Severus was saying as they entered a small café and sat down at a table. "By then things ought to have calmed down with Lockhart and we can get what we need and leave. We can go to Madam Malkin's robe shop first, that will give us plenty of time to ensure Lockhart and his train of flunkeys are gone before we return there."

Dante just nodded, not saying anything and pretending to study the menu.

"Hey, what kind of wand did you get?" asked Harry curiously.

"See for yourself," Dante took the wand out of its sheath and showed Harry. _Fat lot of good it did me against those dark goons, _ he thought bitterly, though the truth was he hadn't dared draw it after they had grabbed him. It would have been suicide, or worse, they'd have taken it from him, and how would he have explained that to Severus?

Skull watched as Dante picked at his roast beef with au jus sandwich, curious as to why the boy didn't seem more excited to get his wand. Most boys his age would have been vibrating off the seat and gobbling down everything in sight, not eating like they were on a starvation diet. Then again, maybe the boy was nervous going off to Hogwarts, a stranger in a strange land.

The raven accepted bits of cheese and cold cuts from Harry, who had a ham and cheese on a roll, and pieces of hamburger and bun from Severus. When Dante shoved his plate away, Skull came and ate the rest of the sandwich and crisps accompanying it. "Thank you," the raven trilled.

"You're welcome," Dante said softly.

"Are you finished then? You hardly ate anything," Severus observed.

"I'm just not hungry now," Dante said shortly. He had barely managed to choke down two bites with the way his stomach was churning. He pushed back his chair and stood. "Which way to this robe shop?" he asked, anxious to get out of this place. He felt as if eyes were watching him.

"It's over here," Harry said, remembering from when he'd gotten robes last year. "What House do you think you'll be in?"

"Hopefully none," Dante replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Severus demanded at Dante's truculent tone. "I assume harry explained about the Sorting to you?"

"He told me some beat up Hat tells you which House you're supposed to be in," Dante said, a sneer in his voice. "In America, you or your master picks your course of study, not some crazy inanimate object."

"The Hat is enchanted, and has been around for thousands of years," Severus said sharply. "It's how it's done over here, and you shall be Sorted, like every other student, Mr. Prince. Your father was Sorted as well during his time at Hogwarts."

Dante looked a little startled. "What House was he in?"

"Slytherin, like most of the Prince family."

"Isn't that your House too?" Dante clarified.

"Yes. I am Head of the House of Serpents." Severus nodded.

Dante immediately decided to pray he was never Sorted there. The last thing he needed was Severus Snape breathing down his neck. In fact, he didn't want to be Sorted anywhere. He didn't think he belonged here and he was sure the Hat would confirm that the moment it was placed on his head.

"You could be in Gryffindor, like me," Harry said encouragingly. "Of course, you'd be third year, a year ahead of me, but it wouldn't be too bad."

Dante said nothing, just stared at the pavement as he walked. This trip couldn't end soon enough. Then there were a few more weeks of summer and school would begin. And sometime afterwards the Death Eaters would contact him again and tell him what he would need to do to repay his father's debt. Whatever it was, Dante was sure it would be unpleasant. He looked over at Harry and suddenly envied him his carefree attitude. If all Harry had to worry about was being famous, he was lucky and this year would be a breeze for him.

A/N: I know this is late, but I've been working on stories in another fandom-Once Upon a Time-which you can read even if you haven't seen the show. How did you like Sev and Lockhart's first encounter? I know I ended this on sort of a cliffy, but I need help deciding on what House to put Dante in. I have a poll on my profile where you can vote, or simply PM me or write your suggestion in your review. Thanks!


	50. Trouble at the Platform

**50**

**Trouble at the Platform**

It was now late August and just about time for Harry, Severus, and Dante to go to Hogwarts. Severus had spent the last week getting his classroom and the dungeons ready for the students, along with his office and the Slytherin dormitories. Though the house elves at the school helped him getting the rooms cleaned and freshened up, a lot of the work of getting his potions restocked and ready for the next year fell on him. Many of his ingredients had expired, and he had to purchase new ones from the apothecary. He was currently waiting on a large order of dragon scales and grindylow skin.

But at least he had all of the boys' books, robes, and other supplies ready to go. And then Skull was contacted by Ghost, walking the astral. _"Good news, Skullduggery! Shriek says your eggs have hatched. You're a father, old son! To five new chicks. There's three boys and two girls. Shriek's waiting for you to come!"_

Skull was ecstatic over the news. "They're the first offspring of a Greater Tower raven and a spirit helper to be born anywhere! I can't wait to see them!"

"Congratulations, my friend. I wish I could go with you, but I can't. I have no time off. Maybe in a few weeks, when the term has begun." Severus said regretfully.

Harry pouted. "Aww, but Dad! We don't have to go for a week, just a few days."

"No, Harry. You can wait to see them. In fact, it'll be better if you do, then you'll have something to look forward to, right now all they look like are bald balls of skin with beaks, like any newborns."

"Hey, don't malign my offspring, Sev!" Skull squawked.

"I'm not maligning. Just stating facts. No need to peck at me, Skullduggery."

"Humph!" the raven hissed, fluffing up his feathers like he was insulted. "See if I ask _you_ to be godfather."

Harry half-giggled. "Skull, can _I_ be godfather to one?"

"We'll see, _bran-boy_. Got to discuss it with the missus first. Shriek will peck my feathers off if I make a decision like that without consulting her. Well, I'm off to see the little ones! I'll see you in a few weeks, Sev, Harry, and Dante!"

"A few _weeks_?" Dante said, rather dismayed. "Why so long?"

"I'll need to help Shriek feed them. Baby ravens require an obscene amount of food. So . . . sayonara, my friends!" Skull flapped upwards then he shifted into the astral and disappeared soundlessly.

Dante bit his lip. Skull was the one thing he felt comfortable talking with in the house and now he was gone. He slumped in his chair and tried to read the comic he'd brought from home, but right then even the X-Men held little interest for him.

Harry sighed mournfully. "Things won't be the same around here without Skull."

"Stop moping," Severus ordered briskly. "If you're bored, I'll find things for you to do. Like cleaning out the cupboards in the basement and re-labeling ingredients for me."

Harry paled. "Bored? Who said I was bored? Right, Dante?"

"No, we're not bored at all!" Dante hastened to reassure his professor cousin. The last thing he needed was doing work for Severus. "In fact, I have to go study." He got up and hurried up to his room.

"Me too! I need to re-read over my new Transfiguration book," Harry said, and followed him.

Severus smirked to himself. That was one way to get rid of the long faces and still have peace and quiet. He opened up his new potions periodical and sat back in his recliner to read a little before supper.

**Page~*~*~*~*~Break**

Two days before September 1st, Severus got an emergency Floo call from Dumbledore. He needed the potions professor to return to Hogwarts early and assist Madam Pomfrey with brewing some drafts for the infirmary, she'd gotten behind and required someone else to help her. So he'd volunteered Severus.

Severus was _not_ happy, but there was little he could do. He knew how important having ready-made drafts at hand was for Poppy, and since he respected the mediwitch, he wouldn't refuse her in her hour of need. Of course, that left him in a quandary about what to do with Harry and Dante, whom he didn't want underfoot in the castle until term started.

He found a solution with Molly Weasley, who agreed to take both boys to the Burrow for a night and then help them get onto Platform 93/4's the morning school started. Severus was grateful, and after admonishing both boys to be on their best behavior or else, he left for Hogwarts.

**Page~*~*~*~Break**

Harry woke up on September 1st feeling sort of fuzzy-headed. He quickly dressed in jeans and a red and gold jumper and his trainers, he'd put his robes on later. He woke up Ron and Dante, who seemed to get on well with the twins at least, and went downstairs to help Molly with breakfast.

Everything was at sixes and sevens, but at last Arthur and Molly managed to get all the kids in the flying Ford Anglia and all their things into the boot of the car without having a breakdown. Harry looked out the window as they flew to King's Cross Station and thought how cool it was to have a flying car.

Dante remained mostly silent through the trip, as he had been since going to the Burrow, except for sharing some pranks with Gred and Forge. He enjoyed looking out the window at the sights in London, like Big Ben and London Bridge. He wished he dared asked to see some of the attractions, but didn't want to sound like a stupid American tourist. He had butterflies in his stomach about going to school, and wished he could somehow skip school by contracting a deadly disease. But he knew even if he did manage to concoct a potion to make himself sick, it wouldn't last once Severus found out. The man was a genius with potions, the best Dante had ever seen, and nothing got past him, not even a thirteen-year-old semi-scam artist. He clenched his fists in his lap and thought how he would need to speak with Severus once they got to this God forsaken school. He had grave reservations about the damn Sorting Hat and he needed his cousin to see where he was coming from.

When they all disembarked at King's Cross, Mr. Weasley went ahead with the twins and Percy to see if the train was there yet, taking half the baggage with him. Dante, Harry, Ron, and Ginny got trolleys and piled their trunks and other things on top of them. Molly smiled at them and said to Ginny, "Come on, luv! Let's go through the barrier."

The two witches ran at the barrier and disappeared through the opening.

But Harry, Ron, and Dante had to wait because there was a sudden influx of Muggles changing trains and they didn't want to be seen vanishing through a solid pillar. It seemed to take forever, and the amount of Muggles coming off and going on the trains was like a flood tide—never ending.

"Normally, it's never like this," Ron said to Dante as they waited.

"Maybe there's a train wreck," Dante speculated. "Or something like that."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Look, watch my stuff. I need to use the loo real quick." He jogged off towards the restrooms a few feet away.

Dante petted Hedwig through the cage bars while he waited for Harry to return. He wished he'd had time to select a familiar before leaving for school. Maybe that would have kept him from being so alone.

Suddenly, Ron cried, "Hey! What's that man doing by Harry?"

Dante followed Ron's pointing finger and saw a tall man with a camera grabbing Harry by the arm and trying to talk to him. "Oh, hell! It's the vampire press."

"The what? That's a vampire?" Ron choked.

"No, it's an Americanism for paparazzi," Dante rolled his eyes. "In other words, stupid reporters for stupid newspapers." Before they could go up to Harry, he shook off the reporter and raced towards them.

"Quick! We've got to get away. That's a reporter from _The Prophet_, he wants me to do some stupid exclusive interview and he won't take no for an answer."

Ron looked back at the barrier. People were still crammed in front of it. "Umm . . . Harry, look there's more!" he pointed to three more people, a man and two women, who had joined the first one. "And they're coming this way!"

"What do we do?" Harry groaned. He wished Severus were there. Or the Weasleys. "Ron, we need to get through the barrier!"

"First, we need to avoid the lame-o's over there," Dante said. "Come on, we'll take a detour back to the car."

They ran as quickly as they could, nearly running over people's feet, through the crowd and back to where the Weasleys had parked the Ford Anglia. Luckily, it was open. They quickly piled inside and shoved Hedwig in the back with their trunks and books.

"Whew!" Harry wiped sweat off his brow. "That was close."

"Stay low," Dante said, shoving him down. "Those idiots are still looking for us."

They all ducked down and waited in tense silence for the reporters to stop searching for them.

Ron gulped and glanced at his watch. "Uh, guys? We're in trouble."

"Why?" asked Harry. "What's wrong?"

"We're . . . umm . . . going to miss the train. It's five to eleven."

"Oh, bloody hell!" Harry groaned. "We'll never make it in time. Now what? If we miss the train, we'll be stuck here and Dad will turn me into potion ingredients when he finds out."

Ron whimpered. "This is so not good, Harry. My parents are going to be furious, especially Mum."

Dante frowned, examining the car. "Relax! I think I know a way to get to school on time and avoid the vampire press too."

"How? Can you Apparate?" asked Ron hopefully.

"Sorry. Don't have my license. But . . . move over, Weasley. We have wheels, we can get there." Dante nudged him and Ron moved over.

"In . . . my dad's car?"

"No, I thought we'd take the short bus," Dante snorted. "Now, shut up and let me drive. I need to concentrate."

"You know how to drive a car?" Harry exclaimed.

"Uh . . . sort of. I've driven a tractor," Dante admitted. "But how hard can it be to drive a car?" He began to fiddle with the buttons on the dashboard, muttering, "Damn! Where's the ignition? Who the hell built this anyway? It's all backwards."

Suddenly, a knot of reporters began to run towards the car, pointing and screaming, "Mr. Potter! Just give us a statement!"

"Dante! Hurry!" Harry yelled.

Just then Dante got the engine to turn over. "Got it!" he cried. "Now, take off, baby!" He pushed another button and the car soared upward . . . just before the reporters got to the curb. "All right!"

"We need to become invisible," Harry remined him.

"Relax, cuz!" Dante pushed a large green button and the car shuddered. "Now we're in stealth mode, okay? Let's see what she's got." He pushed down on the gas and the car lurched.

Ron and Harry were almost thrown through the windshield.

"I thought you said you could drive!" Ron yelped.

"I never said I was good at it!" Dante yelled back. "Hang on, I think I figured it out."

Soon they were moving through the sky at an astonishing speed. Houses and people looked like ants.

"Look! There's the train!" Harry pointed to the Express chugging along below them.

"I see it. Now let's go catch it," Dante whooped.

He made the car dive towards the train.

Ron screamed. "Ahhh! I think I'm gonna be sick!"

Dante started to pull up hard. "You puke on me, Weasley, and you'll be floating to school."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Harry cried, holding onto his glasses for dear life.

"No, but it's better than doing nothing," Dante said back. He tried to land the car on top of the Express.

The car bounced and jerked horribly.

"Stop! We're going to crash!" Ron whimpered.

"Dante! The car's shaking!" Harry said. Behind him, Hedwig screeched.

"So am I. Shut up so I can concentrate! This is tricky!" He shifted the car wheel a quarter turn to the right. The car skidded, almost falling off the top of the train.

Ron had his hands clasped together, praying. Harry gripped his wand so hard he was surprised it didn't snap. The car was still in one piece, but for how long unless Dante could land it? Harry could feel his heart coming up out of his throat. He hoped they would all survive, but right then he wasn't sure if his luck had run out.

**A/N: Okay, who thinks Severus is going to flip out when he finds out? Will he come save them or what? **

**Thanks everyone, for being so patient but I'm putting this story on hiatus till further notice as I'm having trouble ironing out the plotline for the COS with the ending and certain characters. **


End file.
